rhythm of winter

each time i visit home i am knocked off my feet with the same uncomfortable period of adjustment. the first three days are terribly painful. it is as though a dark cloud of melancholy follows me wherever i go, blocking out any chance of happy rays of sunshine. then, by the end of the third day i am comfortable and in routine with the culture of the midwest.

this trip it was through the words of a friend that i was able to cross the awkward threshold of west-coast california meets the frozen tundra of minnesota. his words shooed away the raincloud that stunts my contentedness. this friend of mine and i were sharing a cup of coffee and conversation when i shared with him that i am not particularly fond of the bone-chilling weather; that in fact, i hated it. he responded with an invitation to see the beauty in the season. to my friend, his life is lived in rhythm with the changing of the seasons. the ways he described this lifestyle was so poetically articulated that the once upon a time embedded appreciation i held for minnesota was immediately resurrected.

now, as i sit in my old favorite coffee shop 'blue monday', i see that there truly is a certain rhythm to living in a state that offers a deeply unpredictable weather pattern. i am surrounded by knitted scarves, furry hats, and enormous winter jackets. but we are all nestled in the warmth of our towney coffee house, gazing out the windows at the blankets of snow that cover main street. this is a contagious life-beat that i am actually (thanks to my friend's description) excited to get in-sync with once again.