Winter
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This month has been unseasonably warm. Usually by mid-December we’ve had a few snowfalls. Frost coats the car windshields each morning and temperatures drop below freezing until the end of March. But we’ve been enjoying lovely September weather this Christmas. I didn’t have much experience with the cold growing up. Living in the Texas coastal
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I have never been a fan of the cold. Growing up in Southeast Texas, cold wasn’t something I encountered very often. The few occasions when the thermometer dropped below freezing were rare and therefore exciting. The fantasy of building snowmen or having a “white Christmas” were just that, fantasies. Until I moved to Utah and
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Silence. Muffled, echoing voices singing yuletide songs. Silence. Smothered, trodding footsteps in the light crunch of snow. Silence. Dimmed, crackling flickers of a soft grated flame. Silence. Measured, rhythmic turning of a well worn page. Silence. Hushed, intimate whispers of a loved one’s voice. Silence. Stilled, passing time in the winter frozen world.
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Both the temperature and my energy are low. January is always the hardest month of the year for me. My Seasonal Affective Disorder is in full swing, but I can’t distract myself with thoughts of the holidays. The days are short, the weather miserable, and my motivation is non-existant. Everything from work to household chores


