Chapstick

I love the cold. Every year it rolls around, I realize I’ve forgotten how wonderful it is, and I love it all over again. A lot of people hate this time of year. They would rather be on a beach feeling sweat drip down their face than in a winter wonderland watching their breath puff from their lips. Not me. I feel more alive this time of year than any other. The cold acts as a stinging reminder that my body is constantly working. When I walk out my door, I feel the cold rush onto my skin, working its way down to my bones. My fingers tingle. My knees shake. My lungs feel a slight hesitation. And, in all of this, a smile creeps onto my face because I FEEL alive. A lot of the time, I know I’m alive, but I don’t feel it. Life becomes rather tedious, and I take sensations, feelings, even pain, for granted. But the cold…the cold reminds me. It’s so sudden. Even when you prepare for cold, it always surprises you with how absolutely freezing you become in two seconds after leaving the warmth of your house. And I like that. I like feeling my nose grow red. I like the 80 coats of Chapstick I feel it necessary to apply. I like feeling absolutely miserable walking to the car in the morning, wishing I was still in my warm bed. Even now, I like the thawing feeling in my toes as I lay in bed.

There’s just something. I can’t really explain it well enough for you to know. All I know is I can really breathe - - finally breathe - - in the cold. It wakes me up. It invites me to feel again. It forces me to remember that renewal is coming, that a brand new start is closer than I think.