Iron Gray November Days

Wind is buffeting the leafless trees. Clouds this moment are absent and the stars are twinkling. The time is 5:20 am. The day is Sunday. Forecast is for 67 degrees. Tomorrow’s high is 30 degrees. Such is November!

But wait! Iron gray days are the norm for the month. Endless vistas of mean looking clouds. More shades of gray than you would have expected possible. Yet the color is November’s brand. Cool. Cold. Crispy. Windy. Hail and cold rain. A spit of snow. Then real snow. The month of transition – from fall to winter.

The colorful leaves – those that remain – scurry under wind power into gutters, under bushes, drifting into corners of buildings. They are drifting and unmoored. Snow and ice will weigh them down for the winter’s duration, but for now they are free to blow where they may.

We have taken in the outdoor furniture. Rose bushes have been coned. Mulch is packed around delicate plants and shrubs. Storm windows are in place. We await the cold weather and snow.

It will come. Probably before Thanksgiving. We often have a rime of snow and ice on Thanksgiving morn; sometimes not. But soon afterward to arrives to prepare us for the holidays. What would Christmas be like without snow?

For those in the southern states, or western non-mountainous areas, snow is not your Holiday landscape. And the holidays without snow and bluster is still festive with red bows and decorated trees. We know about that having lived in the west years ago. But for the northern or mountain residents of America snow is a part of the Holidays.

Getting to that period of the year follows a long cue of weather reminders. The mood shifts accordingly. Whether Christmas or Hanukah or Kwanza – the gathering of family and very close friends is a treasured staple of our lives. It comes during cold times when we want to be indoors warmed by a fire, filled with timely taste treats of the season. It prepares us for gathering. Reuniting with family we may not see often enough during the year. Or reuniting in a more meaningful fashion with those we see every day.

This is the season we seek meaning. What is important? Who is important in our life? Why do we do some things, and not others? We ache to become – what? And when?

The universal why inserts itself in our mind. We are aware of seeking, of feeling, of appreciating. The ‘why’ may not be easily answered but we know we are OK because we are with those we love and trust and rely on. The why – at first uncomfortable – now seems welcome. It is good. We should do this more often: consider the important things in our life, not just at Thanksgiving and Christmas, but all year round.

The hubbub of quadrennial elections is past us now. We can focus on other things, more personal things. It is time to enter the magic of the Holidays. A time of preparation and seriousness. A time to reconsider what matters most to us. A time to value.

As we move toward these special days, I hope each of you are readying for joy.

November 12, 2012