Boots Are Out

Yep, my I took my snowboots out this morning and put them on.  I'm ready to venture out today after a light snow fell here last night. 

I'm lucky though, I have a very dependable young man who plows my driveway and shovels my walks.  Of course I pay him to do this, but knowing that he's out there to do this alleviates worry on my part.

Winter isn't easy especially for those of us who live in houses where we need to do our own thing.  I almost moved into a condo last year but decided against it for several reasons.  I think because I am comfortable where I am, know my neighbors, and frankly it's quiet here and offers the kind of retreat that is not found in most places.

One year I stayed at my sons who lives in a very nice area, but the Interstate is not far from them and at night I could hear the trucks driving through the Connecticut roads, even with windows closed.

Here I don't have those kind of noises and in fact at night there is very little traffic that goes by again offering a retreat from the hustle and bustle common in most communites where traffic noises are steady and constant.

My backyard also offers some nice scenary in all seasons.  The first snow is always special and reminds me that indeed we do move from season to season and nothing ever stays the same.

In our youth we may be fooled to think that it's always going to be the way it is but as we grow older we soon discover that it all changes, and the changes are probably the one thing that we can count on.

Nothing stays the same.  Each new season brings forth its own special "thing."   This season is my eighth season without my late husband and so I am quite used to celebrating a Christmas without the traditions that we had established throughout the years I was married.

In fact I don't really do much anymore.  I did my thing...decorating a "real" tree, putting out all the other decorations around the house, baking cookies, and getting ready for the various parties that take place during this time of year.

Of course I've cut back a lot now.  It's easier for me.  I think it actually helps me to accept more and more that as life changes, traditions are changed as well.

The one thing that doesn't change is getting out those snow boots, putting them on, and feeling quite empowered to get out there and make my way over an icy driveway or  a partially snow covered walk way, or through a parking lot that hasn't yet been plowed.

Yep, I really like my snow boots.  They are one of the things that tell me yes, Marie, you will get through another winter just fine as long as you wear snow boots.