I know I have previously written about or mentioned my issues with lack of daylight during the winter months.  But, today, though we’re still in the midst of winter here in MN, I have found some light/bright spots.  Read on…

• We sang the hymn, Christ Be Our Light in church on Sunday – a very favorite hymn of mine.  Google the lyrics (and, read through all the verses) and see if you don’t agree it has a powerful message.  And, the message it sends me personally is there are many people in the world with far greater problems than my measly issue with not having enough daylight.  Get over myself and get out and help others find some light!

Christ be our light! Shine in our hearts, Shine through the darkness.

• So, one of the things I am doing is volunteering at my grandsons’ school on Wednesday mornings – helping in a Kindergarten class and a 2nd grade class.  I get to help the kids paint or read or recognize their numbers and letters.  It is fun to see how some of the kids bask in the extra attention their teacher doesn’t always have time to give to them; and, I believe it also lightens the teacher’s load.
• I received an Aero-Garden by Miracle Grow as a birthday present from RC.

  

  Basically, it is a grow light and some sort of phenomenal plant food that is causing my 2 kinds of basil, mint, dill and parsley to grow so quickly I have to raise the light nearly daily.    It is great to be growing something green and useful when all outdoor plants are dormant under a foot of snow.  I don’t even need a bright window to make the plants grow – the light does all the work.

• There are places in the metropolitan area in which I live that offer indoor garden-like settings – great for mid-winter field trips to provide a taste of summer.  I spent an hour or so on Saturday wandering through the Como Zoo Conservatory in St. Paul where I was able to feel warmth and humidity reminiscent of MN summers as well as smell that wonderful earthy fragrance of plants and flowers growing.  Helpful too – it is a very bright, light place to hang out.

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  The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum also has a conservatory.  Both of these places are great for providing a respite from the dark and cold of winter.

• January and February, though they can be bitterly cold in Minnesota (thank heavens not as much as usual this year), can provide lovely, bright sunny days.  Add clean, white snow reflecting the sun’s rays and the brightness can be almost blinding…though, certainly beautiful, in my eyes.
• For Christians, Lent begins this week – that means there are only six weeks until Easter which signifies, among other things, rebirth/new life, more light, and spring!
• Lastly, we now have daylight until at least 5:30 in the afternoon.  The days are getting longer!  We’re going in the right direction.

Maybe the fact that I have been taking a Vitamin D supplement (the sunshine vitamin) all winter has helped me tolerate the darkness better this year.  Probably doesn’t hurt that I am now also retired so my stress level is greatly reduced.  I find joy in each day.

It’s Valentines Day on Sunday – find the light, make it special and show somebody how much you love and appreciate them.

(Really, let’s do that every day!)