Warm dog snuggled to my side; I gaze out on the snow melting on the deck.
Yup. It’s Winter.
I’m generally a happy kind of guy. But winter does a number on me.
Short days.
Achy joints.
And this week, sickness.
It’s just a cold (I tested negative for COVID twice), but it was enough to keep me from going to Winter Camp with my 6th grade students from church.
They’re good. Another youth leader stepped up and they have someone to lead them through the weekend.
And I’m here, nursing this crud.
What can I do?
When I first called in sick, I thought, “Great! I’ll have time to write.”
And I have written some. But, for the most part, I’ve been to cruddy feeling to engage my imagination.
Today, I feel like I’m in the middle of one of David’s Psalms where he starts out with “Woe is me” and ends up with “God is good and so is life.”
My cold symptoms are waning. I have a little more energy.
On top of that, the middle of winter was last Thursday! Spring is around the corner!
It’s weeks like this that I am reminded of my weak humanity. My human body has been weakened by a cold virus and taken my mental state with it.
I’ve given myself a break, literally. I worked from home Tuesday when symptoms started. Then I took Wednesday through Friday off work and stayed home from this weekend’s camp.
I won’t be foolish enough to overdo it today. I want to be well enough for church tomorrow. But I can channel my slowly returning energy into creative work, like this blog, and writing more on Wil Clarey Book 3 (Mystery at the Mill).
The bottom line to this ramble is:
cut yourself some slack.
If winter has you down, if sickness has been hitting you, or just the weight of life has been pushing your spirits down, it’s okay to take a break.
Regain your health. Rally your strength. Spring is coming with new life and new adventures!
If you’re stuck at the beginning of Psalm 73, keep reading, victory is on the way!
Solano Writing 