A New Year’s Gift: Delighting in the Unexpected

Welcome 2017!

2016, you were an interesting year. Parts were good, bad, odd, funny, and scary. But isn’t that often how every year goes? A bit of everything mixed in to varying degrees?

As I move back into a regular blogging schedule I’ve decided to ease back in gently and share with you a rare gift here on the South Central Oregon Coast. Snow. And not just a light dusting either. We ended up with about 5-7 inches depending on what part of town you were in.

In fact, I didn’t believe it would come! The weather man (or weather app in my case) is so often wrong that it was a pleasant surprise and delight to wake up and see the wonderland that had been created outside my door.

I couldn’t wait to get out, walk around, explore, and let Bailey go nuts. 🙂 He LOVES snow. Combine cooler temps and snow and he is probably just as happy or maybe even happier than he is on the beach. He would have stayed out longer if possible.

As we walked down the road exploring, I couldn’t help but smile. The last half of 2016 was rather bumpy, and the entrance into 2017 has been rough. It’s been tiring, frustrating, and I’ve been sick, so finding the energy to get out and do much of anything has been hard.

But not this morning. I was grinning from ear to ear, I couldn’t stop smiling in wonder at the gift that felt like was delivered just for me.

Once there was enough light I grabbed my camera, grabbed Bailey, and we headed out. It really and truly was a winter wonderland. I could hear children laughing, dogs barking, and one of the most wonderful sounds in the world, the perfect crunch of snow under my feet. Not too wet, not too dry, just perfect.

For Grade 3-6 I lived in a small town about 1 1/2 hours north of Calgary, Alberta. And each school day I would walk to school in just about any weather. It didn’t matter if it was rain, sun, dust storm, Chinook wind, or snow storm.

Many of my days were filled days of walking on top of the snow drifts, playing in the snow at recess, and once home, strapping on my skates, with the skate guards still on, I would glide down the hill in back to the outdoor rink.

That was my favorite time of year, I would stay out and play and explore for hours on end. I loved it. This was the first day in a long, long time that reminded me of those incredible winters days.

You have to keep in mind that snow, especially in this quantity, does not happen very often.  We haven’t had a good snow dump in at least 3 or 4 years, so it felt like a treat.

 

When gifts like these come around, it is important take the time to enjoy them. Savor the details, create memories, and be in the moment. The meaning of Selah is to take notice because this is important, it’s an invitation to pause.

A gift of a morning walk like this did bring me into the moment, it helped me slow down, to look, and observe. It gave me an opportunity to look for treasures #alongthetrail and experience many #bestillmoments.

May this new year bring you similar gifts.

Happy New Year!

Save