Shortest, darkest day

Another Winter Solstice arrives and I wonder how a whole year has passed since I wrote this. It was written after enjoying a beautiful frozen walk with Albert, but when my heart was heavy with sorrow. Renae was dying and we knew that she didn’t have long. Although I couldn’t give voice to the reality. I was in full retreat. A place I was to stay in for a few weeks.

Back from today’s walk I sit and write in conditions which are very different. The skies are dark and heavy with rain, the temperature is mild. I have been busy and distracting myself from last Christmas’s sad memories.

Last week we had a sprinkling of snow. The swings in temperature are jarring, unsettling, however is nature coping I wonder. Snow is rare in this part of France and last Monday when it came down I grabbed my coat and Albert and off we went into the lane to make the most of it.

I have a childish enjoyment of snow and hoped Albert would share in the silly fun of it. He did. Running and leaping along, rubbing his nose in it, hurtling back and forth, getting sillier and sillier as we approached the junction at the top of the lane. His joy was my joy and my frozen hands were more than a price worth paying. In case you’re thinking he got special treatment, his sisters were invited but wouldn’t leave the house.

Winter Solstice, that means the days will get brighter and longer, but there is a long way to go until the bright days of Spring. I intend to enjoy Winter, the peace and quiet of it suits me. As Christmas is almost upon us, I’ll take this chance to wish you a very good one, peaceful and healthy is what I wish for everyone.

Thank you for spending time with my writing here this year. I truly appreciate your support. If you don’t already receive my newsletters, you’re very welcome to add yourself to my mailing list. This year I’ve been regularly sending them out, around once a month and intend to continue and do more perhaps next year.