Morning Calm

I'm not one to sleep in or lay in bed in the morning.  It's a much too precious time of day to waste away.  We got a beautiful layer of new snow yesterday and throughout the night.  Still in my pj's I bundle up to take Olive outside. It's 6 degrees so I know Olive will not last long.  I grab my phone so I can snap a few photos.  Olive does a few laps around the yard, does her business and then hangs at the gate begging to come back indoors.  I'd like to stay outside a few more minutes but Olive guilt's me into heading back inside.  I'll enjoy the snow from inside today. 

Do you take time throughout your day to be good to yourself and be grateful?  I'm a firm believer in this!  Mornings are my absolute favorite time of day and a favorite time to reflect and enjoy little things.  Today it was a fat slice of my Dad's homemade bread drizzled with lavender honey from Lavender Hill Farm in Niles, a fresh orange that my aunt ships up each year from Florida, and coconut tea.  I sit here thinking about how good this bread it, knowing my Dad baked this in his Dutch oven and the honey reminds me of my visit to an incredibly beautiful lavender farm this past summer.  The orange makes me excited to visit Florida in a few weeks and I make a mental note to visit an orange farm this year while I'm there. What better way to start my day!

I read an article on FB this morning rating the worst winter states in the US.  Michigan ranked #2, even above Alaska!  This is the second winter that I have had the luxury of not having to drive to work anymore.  But for 30 plus years it was terrifying for me.  I literally had an immobilizing fear of driving that 50 miles round trip to work in winter weather.  It's so much easier for me now.  If we are getting a winter blast I just sit back, enjoy my tea and the view outside my windows.  It really is beautiful when you no longer have to be terrified of it.  I'm also extremely grateful that both of my kids and my hubby have very short drives to work. Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow! 

I hope you have time to slow down and pamper yourself, even if it's something as simple as a slice of bread with honey.