Not a Winter Person!

I miss sunlight, warm breezes, and open windows! I am not a winter person.

When I woke up this morning, it was still dark. I thought about summertime, when I’d be out in the garden picking vegetables at this early hour, getting a head start on my day. As I wrapped myself up in my warm, fuzzy bathrobe, and slipped on my equally fuzzy slippers, I wished for a t-shirt, shorts, and my gardening Crocs. I could hear the furnace running, pushing warm air into the house, and I wanted to open the French doors in my bedroom to listen for some early morning summer sounds. I poured myself a cup of hot tea, cuddled up underneath a warm lap blanket, and longed for daylight.

With light brightening the day outdoors, I decided to go downstairs to see what Phil was up to in his shop. I knew the weather report for last night was for freezing rain, but when I hesitantly checked the deck floor, I was delighted to find that it was wet and not icy. Thankfully, I continued with my cautious steps, so when I slipped on the top step – ice! – I wasn’t caught entirely off-guard. As my feet went out from under me, I proceeded to slide and bump down the stairs. I grabbed the handrail and was able to stop my forward progress after only six steps. I hate icy stairs! With my slippery slide halted, I checked myself out, noting that nothing on my body was terribly painful, although I knew I had hit pretty hard. I couldn’t stand up or get a foothold, so I ever so slowly inched myself backwards step by step by pulling with my hands on the handrail. When I finally reached the deck floor, where it was only wet and not icy, I was able to stand up, and walk back inside.

Once inside the house, I discovered that I had a pretty raw scrape on my arm, a sore place along my spine, a red spot on my left thigh, and I was shaking like a fall leaf on a windy day. I checked my robe to see if it had torn, but it was only wet. Other than that, and being shaken from my adventure, I gave a prayer of thanks that it hadn’t been worse, and poured myself another cup of tea.

Now, an hour later, my neck is beginning to ache a little, my arm is burning from my scrape, and I know that I’ll have a few bruises on my back and leg. I’m not going to venture outside again until after the sun has hit the stairs, and has melted all of the ice.

I think I’ll spend the rest of the day dreaming of warm days and sunshine!