Winter Solstice

Okay, so now that the festivities are over it is just you and I old man winter; settling in for a long winters nap. Now that the holiday cheer is gone there is nothing left but the memories of a very festive season. All the decorations and lights are gone that made the cold weather seem so inviting. No more yummy baked goods as we all have committed to cleaning up our act for the new year. There seems to be nothing left but the dark dreary days of a long winter. Since this is my fourth winter in Germany I know what to expect, but I'm not sure if that is a good thing or a bad thing.  I know there will be months and months of gloomy and dark miserably cold days ahead.  Days where I will daydream and wish for a sunny warm spring somewhere in the distant horizon.

I asked my husband to take these pictures of beautiful snow people that were created in my neighborhood. They seem so happy and hopeful for the long winter that still remains. Whomever created them, thank you for the reminder there is still beauty around us. I will try to remember their eternal optimism as I'm stuck in the snow and ice and I will do my best to stay hopeful for the bright sunny spring in my future.