Cabin Fever....

As the wind howls outside and I am nestled nice an warm inside, I can't help but think of spring and summer, sandy beaches, refreshing oceans, and anything but the Colorado winter. January, the wonderful month in which I was born, has been the longest month this year! The days have crept by. January is what local Coloradians call deep winter. This has been one of the coldest, snowiest, and dreariest winters for some time up here. This morning JT and I awoke to -12 degrees air temp with a wind chill of -30. This has been fairly consistent day after day now for 2 months.

Did I mention that our water lines froze from our well and we have no running water? The frozen ground has done it's damage and if a plumber doesn't come out and thaw the line (at $125/hr) we would not have running water until the spring thaw in May. This has been quite a blistery winter season. Usually the average highs for January in Colorado up here are in the 30's. The sun is out, the air is crisp, but at least you can go ski or snow shoe. But not this year. Even the dogs are tired of it all. They get frost bite just going out to potty. So I think of better times. Like when I lived on the warm coast of Florida. It takes a lot of heart to live and survive up in the mountains, or high country. There are no frills to the lifestyle. We keep our house warm via a wood burning stove. On days where the snow keeps falling, we can not leave. Often we lose electricity due to the high winds. Oh, and now we have gotten to experience the joys of having our water lines freeze. But it has all been a learning experience that we are thankful for. And did I mention that the summers up here are to die for? They really are.

When you hear the locals who have been here for 20 plus years, grumbling about the long drawn out winter, you know it's bad. And then I guess I don't feel so bad for wishing and dreaming of long summer days and wearing shorts or sandals or catching a wave off my old beach near Palm Beach. So, for all you out there who are freezing your bums off and ready for spring, just think it could all be worse. God has given us all the seasons and He is as faithful as He is consistent...warmer days will come. Soon enough winter will end and spring will come to us all joyfully, welcoming in new life and light. So, until then I will wait patiently dreaming of melting ice cream cones and flip flops......