Winter is Coming

My mind drifts towards winter today. On the weekend I noticed that some of the leaves have changed colours, a yellow that was once green. Winter is coming. Fall and winter are my favourite seasons because of cooler weather but the lack of sunshine doesn’t do me any favours.

The sun will rise and set in the same spot that it does each day but later and earlier. I feel like I need to formulate some kind of a plan to help ensure I don’t slip or if I do slip, I have options for self-care to keep me above the avalanche.

• Lift the blinds in the morning and let the natural light flow in.
• Prep the coffee the night before and set the timer.
• Kick sled with Asha around the lake in our new neighborhood. I can’t wait for the neighbors to see us. I get a rise out of the expression on peoples faces when they see Asha propelling me faster as I kick along.
• My winter reading list, in no particular order, with more to be added:
  • Only Pack What You Can Carry: My Path to Inner Strength, Confidence, and True Self-Knowledge by Janice Holly Booth
  • What Happened by Hillary Clinton
  • The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey
• Pre-plan an ice fishing trip in addition to attending the KidFish Ice Derby. Go ice fishing at a minimum of twice this winter.
• Continue with Instagram Yoga Challenges and find another when the Big Gal Yoga Challenge ends. Just keep going with yoga as often as I can make the time.
• Motivational music. I made my daughter a playlist of empowering music that I often listen to as well. The music is mostly country and pop and is a lot of fun to rock out too. Here are a couple of my favorites from the list:
  • Firework by Katy Perry
  • Nobody Ever Told You by Carrie Underwood
  • Beautiful: Christina Aguilera
  • This One’s for the Girls by Martina McBride
  • How Far I’ll Go by Auli’i Cravalho (Moana)
• Winter hiking in the mini mountains of the Whiteshell area. The cold doesn’t really phase me. I love being surrounded by the frosted trees after freshly fallen snow. I have been thinking about getting a pair of snow shoes. Maybe this will be the year.

It feels good to write out a few plans. Winter is long and doesn’t seem to end where I live. I like the cold. I just wish the days were not so short and the sun stuck around a little longer. I know it is a tough time for a lot of people and thankfully I like the idea of being outside so that gives me a lot of hope that this winter will come with more motivation to rise and shine and make the most out of my days.

Ice fishing with a thermos of tea and a book sounds really delightful.