It is December 2022 and it is our first winter in our new home. It is also the first holiday season that looks and feels very different. So, we thought we would touch base.
So here, where we are, we are kind of in a pocket from typical Montana winters. We are in between two major mountain ranges, so the wind is significantly less and the temperatures and snow accumulation tend to be much less also. With that being said there is a lot of snow. It has been so beautiful and breath taking to watch and see. Overall the family has welcomed the cold, DRY winter compared to the alternative in Oregon. We obviously are still adjusting and learning everything that there is to thrive in this environment. Chad is embracing plowing the drive way on a regular basis. We have all learned the necessary evils to make sure water to the barn is always a priority. We have embraced the style of multiple layers, snow boots and snow attire and rock it with the upmost flare! The kids are loving that they get to play in the snow at school, previous school that was not an option. Work sites are frigidly cold and that is a consistent learning curve. Montana time, is a real thing here and winter is for the slower paced. Not something my construction guys are use to, but they are embracing and making adjustments as needed when they come upon it. However, it is very obvious when you have a sub that is from here and sub that is a transplant!
Our December in typical usual fashion has been full of tradition, but that tradition looks much different now. We did travel back to Oregon at the beginning of the month, so that the kids could participate in an annual family event and have some cousin/family time. Our weekends are now ours and not everybody else’s, that has been a very welcome change. Our Christmas Tree came from the forest, instead of a farm. Love it, but hate it at the same time. I will be very interested to see how that changes through out the years to come. Will I embrace it, or want to go back to my big tree with really strong branches to hold all of our ornaments? This will be the first Christmas Eve on our own, finding our new normal, our new traditions. Not gonna say this will be easy and or gentle, but it will be and we will figure it out. Christmas was Linda’s favorite holiday and her spirit and presence is so missed right now. This will be the first Christmas Day that we do not pack up after Christmas morning and spend the entirety of the rest of the day surrounded by family, cousins and crazy. I know it will be missed and I know it will be different. I pray daily for my kids to continue to have the flex and strength to embrace all the change and new. They do not cease to amaze me every day that we are here. Not only amaze me, but honestly thrive and be awesome. Together as a whole family we will find our new, we will find our new quiet, we will find our new easy. That is what we are all embracing everyday no matter what it is that we are doing. Work is a lot less stressful, school is less constricting, play is full of unbridled imagination, extra curricular activities are less competitive and intense, the busy of life is quieted, the simplicity of life is embraced!
We are wishing all a Merry Christmas and a New Year filled with joy, love and light. May you have the insight to see your true self and be brave enough to do whatever you need to do to embrace that.
