Finding a Glimmer of Light

Well, it is almost February and I dare say that we are at the halfway point to our destination of “spring”. I am not a lover of winter. I have never had great success finding the joy in the snow or the cold. The shorter days and the lack of fresh air create a longing in me for the newness of April air and the beauty of bulb flowers. I really try to enjoy the winter and I go outside as much as possible, but the cold temperatures cause me great physical agony, so I retrieve to the warmth of my home.

March is the month when I feel like I have made it through. It is when I know that the temperatures will not move lower than I can tolerate. I thought of this the other day when I turned around from my makeup table to see my dog laying in a stream of sunshine under a rack of clothes in my closet. He too was looking for a little of light amidst the winter days. You see, his life also changes in the winter because I can only walk him on the days that the temperature dips down to a mere minus 5. Anything lower and my fingers and toes move into a condition called Raynaud’s Syndrome. It is a common phenomenon that presents as secondary to autoimmune diseases and causes decreased blood flow and numbness.



I feel sad when I see Jakie waiting all day for me to grab the leash and take him out but, he is patient and seems to understand. He knows that when spring arrives, he will be walked every day, and he seems to wait with gratitude in the stream of sun that pours in from the bitter cold. It is that light at the end of the tunnel that we all seem to look forward to.