Winter Light

Between the coming of winter solstice and the grey, cloudy weather, December was a dark and gloomy month around these parts.  On more than one occasion, I found myself standing in the front window of my house looking at the holiday lights at 4 pm and longing for sunlight instead.  I wanted extra light so much that I looked up sunrise and sunset times for the next few months and wrote a few on my calendar, mostly to remind myself that the darkness wouldn't last forever.

As if to make up for it's December shortcomings, Mother Nature has offered us a sunnier January.  That the amount of daylight is creeping upward by a few minutes each week certainly helps.  The older I get, the more I feel the power of  natural light and the outdoors.  Some years ago, I realized that right around February 1st there is enough light after supper for a walk outside to enjoy the sunset.  I'm aiming for that date now and I know that it's coming, just as surely as I know the sun will set at 4:59 this evening.