Little Things: January 13 Edition

One thing I always forget about snow: it makes everything brighter.

There’s a shortage of daylight this time of year; not just in the length either. It’s awfully cloudy most days in Michigan in January and without snow on the ground for what light we do have to bounce off it gets downright gloomy around here. Last night the first snow of the year (which arrived very late for Michigan) laid a four inch layer of the white, fluffy stuff on the ground and today it’s so very nice and bright in here. I wasn’t happy about winter finally arriving so there’s your silver lining, I suppose.

In light of the unexpected bright side to this day I thought it might be time for another Little Things post. It’s been a while since I paid a little gratitude where gratitude is due.

1. Bright, beautiful, natural light. Even if it must bounce off snow to exist.

2. Citrus. We try to eat as local as possible, but I don’t think I’ll ever give up in-season citrus. There’s nothing like a clementine in the morning.

3. Freedom from Corporate America. This morning about 9:30 I felt a headache coming on; above my right eye, just behind my eye brow. It pulsated there, making my eye twitch and my mind wander. I rubbed the spot, squinted, stretched my neck. I took some ibuprofen. Nothing helped. Finally about 10:00 I went into my bedroom and laid down on the bed, burying my head in the covers. By 10:30 it was gone and I was back to work. And it’s been a productive day since.

4. Food Choices. I didn’t put back enough of anything from the garden this year. There are many reasons for that, but mostly I’m releasing myself from the guilt of not having cleared a personal hurdle this time around and focusing on being thankful that we have food choices and my poor harvest season doesn’t mean we’ll be hungry come February.

5. Post-It Notes. Remember that streamlining I told you I wanted to focus on this year? These things are becoming ever more useful in those endeavors every single day.

Tagged as: Little Things