Tuesday, December 27, 2016

And When We Are Stressed We Play in the Woods...


When I first moved back to New York, I was warned by the locals:  Find a way to embrace the winter months.  I laughed, because the major reason I left New York all those years ago was:  It's too damn cold. "I'll NEVER learn to embrace the winter, these people are nuts," I thought.

And then we had last winter, which was probably the warmest Western NY winter ever.  It was beautiful!  I think it snowed twice and we rarely had below 35 degree temps.  I came out of it thinking, "This winter stuff's not so bad, I got this!"

That idea worked until Mother Nature reminded me of the reality that is Western New York in the winter.  This year.  It is only December 27th and we've already had many days below 35 and some snowy days, as well.  And because it is quite possibly my last year of running, I'm making the attempt to truly #EmbraceTheSuck of winter weather.

I am an outdoorsy girl.  Being in the woods is a comfort to me, and it's where I can often be found, seeking solace.  So when the going got rough (living with teenagers isn't always a picnic) last weekend, and the winter weather wasn't *so bad* I killed two birds with one stone:  Embrace the suck of winter, and get the hell out of MomLife.  I stowed my camera away at the start of the trail, and we did a run out, run back, and then some camera play.

Luke was overjoyed to hit the trails, as it had been a few weeks since he'd been able to RUN.


Everything on the trail looked monochrome.  What had once been a trail full of colors such as greens, yellows, reds, and purples, was now all one color:  brown.  Even Luke matched the scenery.  This, as much as the cold,  wears me down from winter.
 While most of the scenery blended in with one another, this rebel leaf caught my eye.  It apparently forgot to fall to it's snowy burial and remained stuck, in stark contrast to the rest of the forrest.

While on our run/camera play walk, Luke continuously enjoyed playing in the snow.  He would bury his head deep into the snow piles, and snort out, usually coming up with a few flakes still upon his snout.  For a southern born boy, he sure did enjoy this snow play...and that is why I will continue to Embrace the Suck that is winter.  Watching my boy run and enjoy the trail, despite it's depressing color scheme, was a true joy.  He runs about in a way that reminds me of my childhood days in the woods, when there weren't chores and to-do lists, when the cold didn't hurt the joints as much.  He is my very own Peter Pan.