Waking Up

It is 6:15 am on a cold, cold Saturday.  Audrey wakes me up, asking for cereal and a cartoon.  We quietly plop ourselves down on the couch and bury ourselves under blankets and pillows.  I turn the heat-up, and Audrey happily munches on her cereal while we watch a show.  What a great way to start the weekend!  A run is on the board for later today, but I am content to sip coffee, snuggle on the couch, and watch the chill outside do its best to penetrate our fortresses of warmth.

It is that time of year where we are still firmly entrenched in winter's grips, but are close enough to spring that we can begin to hope for warmer days in the near future.  The streets have started to melt snow, but our sidewalks and yards remain a solid sheet of snow and ice.  The sun rays stretch across our kitchen and reach us on the couch, but they can't convince us to leave our mounds of blankets just yet.

Waking-up on a cold, bright Saturday makes me look forward to the day.  It is nice to think that in the near future there will be longer dog walks, bike rides, running, and playing outdoors.  While the winter is beautiful and gives us a lot of time indoors together, being able to move outside and enjoy the area we live in is eagerly anticipated.  Looking out onto the frozen land with a hot cup of coffee brings me a feeling of serenity and calm.  While we are still kept indoors by the subzero temps, endless possibilities surround us here:  toys, games, movies, books, baking...things that rarely get our attention when outdoor options are available.

Taking time, though, to just curl-up with a book and a cup of coffee while my children play is perfect for a cold morning.  The rest of the day can wait.  For now, we are all just waking up.

-a