Monday, January 31, 2011

Bloom Where You're Planted

This morning found me staring at a steely gray Kansas sky and bemoaning today's weather. I missed the glorious sunny 50 degrees this weekend because I worked 13 hour days at the hospital Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. And now that I have 2 days off, winter has returned. It took its time getting here this year, and now it's taking its sweet time leaving.

Remember last week when I said the snow was melting and I was excited to run outside again? Well, I stepped out this morning hoping to run before the most recent "snowpocalypse" hit (Seriously? What happened to "snow storm" and "blizzard"?). However, I stepped out to find the roads coated in a thin, black sheet of ice. So I ran on the treadmill again. And then I did what any warm-blooded Midwesterner does when the weather threatens to trap us at home for 24 hours-- I went to the grocery store to top off our pantry and fridge.

I feel silly now, though. We hardly would've suffered with what we have right now. But at least it gave me some contact with the outside world, which I don't get much of when I'm home and Ross is at work. And my trip certainly entertained me-- the weather brings out the oddest people. There was one guy with a cart full off 24-packs of pop. And another guy with a cart full of Pop-Tarts. Odd. But I digress.

So here I am in the thick of my least favorite season, and it's so tempting to sit here and write about how much I hate winter. But then I read a beautiful blog post on loving where you live by Kelle Hampton (click here to read it). She says:

The great thing about entertaining out-of-town company is that I rediscover the beauty of our sunny place [they live in Florida] and fall a little more in love, every time, with the elements that make up our latitude when I'm showing it to someone else. The thick humidity, the lush ferns, the tall bare trunks of our pines and the great many palms that accessorize our sun-kissed town.


And it makes me wish I would have spent a little more time when I lived in Michigan venturing out to see its best more--the dunes, the light houses, the quaint fishing towns hugging the Great Lakes. Because there are hidden best spots in every state, and the challenge lies in finding them. (We get it, right? Bloom where you're freaking planted. I'll stop beating a dead horse). And I'm again thankful that last year I was able to discover a little more about our great America, from the quiet mountains of Montana to the grand snowy splendor of Utah.

So, time to pull on my big girl pants and bloom where I'm freakin' planted, right? Any fellow Kanans or Missourians who can tell me what I simply can't miss around here?


1 comment:

  1. "bloom where I'm freakin' planted" - love it. That applies to all of us, I think. Instead of looking for the next big thing, it forces us to live in the "now" and thank the Lord for what he has given us. To accept who we are and rejoice in our identity in Christ. That's what's helped me bloom and I've still got a lot of blooming to go! Anyways, I love reading your blog. :)

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