Church in winter, by night

All Saints Catholic Church, Lakeville, MN

Let it snow

After two seasons wearing tennis shoes and Gore-Tex lined hiking boots, I finally re-established myself as a Minnesotan and purchased a pair of classic Sorel snow boots. After enduring the pounding snowstorm and well-below-zero temperatures of last winter, I am now as prepared as I should have been. Additionally, I anticipate logging more hours trudging through deep snow while pulling a sled carrying Miles and Margo. No more frozen ankles!

Tradition

Somewhere in my brain a screw is loose. For the past few years on the day of winter's first snowfall my mind pulls me outside to go for a run, partly out of guilt that I haven't run all summer (I prefer cycling) but mostly out of the need to assure myself I can survive it. This year it wasn't terribly cold, but cold enough to create an icy path. The wind was also blowing hard, driving the falling ice into my eyeballs while I ran north.

I generally run at night--or in this case, snowfall--so that my slow pace and poor form are hidden from public view. For some reason I find it easier to run in the winter, despite having to wear hat, gloves, gator and many layers of clothing. My real problem with running is that I'm not consistent yet feel like I should be able to go farther and faster. And each year on the first run I end up running farther than I probably should for a first run. My wife, a fantastic runner, rightfully rolls her eyes.

But...what really "brings me back" each winter is how good it feels when I'm done. Coming in from outside, warming up, stretching and waiting for the satisfying muscle ache of a surviving yet another first winter run.

Hiatus

hiatus

a pause or gap in a sequence, series, or process

Sassy in the South often starts her blog entries with a definition, and I being a loyal reader am inclined to do the same to open this entry--and to conclude this blogging hiatus--the word of the day.

Minnesotans must, by virtue of their involvement in winter, allow for hiatuses, be it backyard barbecues, trips to Dairy Queen (the local DQ shut-down for winter months when I was growing up), adequate Vitamin D or fresh fruits and vegetables.

But life itself is never on hiatus. The lack of one thing makes room for another: a baby is born, and while the routine of eat and sleep may falter, love takes no pause.

Turning point

I took this photo at a very old and rugged cemetery less than a mile from our house. While I had all sorts of great ideas for capturing shadow and light around the grave stones, the shooting session was cut a bit short as the temperature fell well below zero. I also forgot to reset my ISO. The entire shoot was done at a very noisy 1600.

Spring is just starting to shine through the dead of winter in Minnesota after a long stretch of cold and snow. As a child, I remember damming up small rivers that ran the length of curbs and sidewalks--the result of winter's snow succumbing to spring's warming air--with sticks and rocks and mud and watching as the river always, always found a way around the boy-made obstacle a few minutes later. As I look out my window now, I see places on our street and our driveway where I might have constructed such a dam to briefly hold the water I can see melting away from the snow covering only part of our lawn. What now seems so unsightly--week old snow covered by dust and mud--has, every spring, a natural cleaning process wherein the snow melts, the water washes away, evaporates, and the mud that once tarnished the pureness of winter eventually returns to the earth.

Much has changed at our home, too, since my last post. Our son Miles was born on December 29, 2007 and has been nothing but a joy. He is likely to be the only kid in his class with two middle names, Harold and Michel, tributes to my and Emily's dads. After taking time off and returning briefly to work, Emily decided to take a longer leave and stay home with Miles. I'm looking forward to the flexibility it will give us to enjoy more time together as a family. Additionally, I have found new work within the same company that allows me to work from home. The time not spent in stressful and polluted traffic is priceless.