Winter Quiet

Big Cypress National Preserve // photo credit

Yesterday my soul soared;  I was cold. 

I awoke to temperatures in the low 50's and I could barely hold back a smile as I grabbed my peacoat (untouched since last Christmas) off the coat rack and pranced to my car.  My mug of hot coffee felt good in my hands and I plugged my iPod into my car and quickly scrolled until I found my 4 million Christmas tunes.  

The heater in the car smelled slightly of burning dust and a flood of memories overtook me.  I was back in Colorado, on the first cold morning of Fall.  

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The drive out to Big Cypress felt different yesterday morning.  The sun barely peaked out of the cloud covered sky and the wind pulled and tugged angrily at the car.  Even though my day was packed full of meetings and projects, I wished I could have called in "sick" to stay home to snuggle on the couch and watch the misty rain from the window.  The animals were quiet and there was no sign of the alligators in the water.  I knew they could be found at the bottom of the deep canals, preserving their body heat. A winter quiet had creeped onto the reservation over night.

My blood has thinned and my tolerance has grown lean to chilly weather.  My mom reminded me of how I used to make fun of the Floridians who bundled up in 65 degree weather.  And now I have become one of them.  I miss the cold and snow, I really do.  Or maybe I just miss the idea of it.  Snow is so magical and sparkly and makes the dead winter branches look so beautiful.  I miss those snowy nights, long after I was supposed to be asleep, when I would sit huddled in my blankets with my chin resting on my window ledge.  I would stare out the window for what felt like forever, watching giant snowflakes fall under the orange glow of the street lamp and hoping and praying for a snow day.  I miss snowy mornings, waking up to a muted light and heavy silence.  I knew it had snowed before I even saw the white covered ground.  I would peak out the window and see a winter wonderland of diamonds.  I would hurry back into my warm bed and wait for my mom to make her rounds, singing each of my sisters and I the Snow poem:

Oh, it snowed last night 

It snowed last night. 

The sky bears had a pillow fight, 

Tore up all the clouds in sight and tossed them down as feathers white.  

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This cold snap has brought refreshment to my soul and even though it will be short lived, I am enjoying being "cold".