A tough winter

This has really been a tough winter—sub-zero wind chills have gone off the charts. Since New Year’s Day I have been trucking around in two feet of snow in my sub-zero boots. I had so many layers of clothes on the other day that if I stepped into a snowdrift I would probably still be there in the spring due to the lack of mobility in my knees.

 On the bright side, all of this walking is better than any workout at the gym. Walking in the snow with 20 pound pack boots is sort of like walking on a nice warm beach. The resistance in the snow is like walking through the warm ocean waves while they gently splash your face. Right. Okay, I am stretching it a little bit, but it’s winter and it’s cold.

Tonight I am all bundled up in my electric blanket with my phone at my side. As long as I have a phone, I can work from under this electric blanket. My daughter is trying to bring the color back to my face so she has been feeding me gallons of hot chocolate with marshmallows. Although I am cold, I am content that all is right with my world. I love my friends and family and feel good about the choices I have made.

The warmth of my home surrounds me as I listen to the wailing wind outside. The wind hitting my old farmhouse windows gives me pause while I remember another February day not that far back.

It was cold, and my windows were rattling. I had the heat set down real low, trying to make my fuel last as long as possible. It had been a long day, which finished up with an appointment with my attorney. I had always lived a quiet life, never even had a traffic ticket. Now I was tossed out into a very scary world. The good news was that the end of the marriage was in sight; the bad news was that there would probably be a custody battle. Therefore, I went home that day with an additional bill for $3000, which I needed to pay by Monday. I also knew that court costs would be extra. All of my energy and money was going out, and I just could not get enough back, especially in the dead of winter and with real estate as my career of choice.

I had canceled every extra expense, right down to the cable TV. I was cold and tired and there was just no end in sight. My credit at this point was non-existent so a bank loan was out of the question. Therefore, that night I went home, sat under my quilt and desperately tried to figure out what to do.

It was dead quiet in my house, and the rattling windows made my bones ache. I just kept thinking back to a time in my life when things were nice and the pace was easier. I thought of my dad.

 He was a quiet man and very kind to those who knew him; he would always say that when things were tough you had to work through it. He said that life’s greatest gifts came from our greatest challenges. “Take those bad things and turn them into something good.”

Okay. I would try. I worked his spoken legacy into a plan. I had about 25 dollars left in my checking account. I called one of my dear friends, who took out a 3000 dollar loan for me. He never complained when it took me 2 years to pay him back.

One problem was solved, but I still needed fuel oil and I was worried about additional attorneys fees. I called my attorney back. She really was terrific so we made a deal—I would run errands, file things and do odd jobs for her to keep my legal fee from climbing as high as the national debt.

With the major issues handled, I still needed about $200 for fuel oil. I had only one day’s worth of oil left when one of my oldest and dearest friends stopped by. She knew I was in trouble, reached into her pocket and handed me a lump of money. She had been throwing her spare change in a jar for emergencies. She smiled when she told me that she had managed to save about $200. She said that this was her rainy day. And that I could use her money for as long as I needed it.

We both cried that day and formed a bond that will never be broken by anything that life tosses at either one of us.

Years have passed since this tough time, yet my dad was right. Those toughest challenges do in fact bring to us the greatest memories and the strongest lessons.

So tonight I am going to stay right here tucked in my electric blanket, sipping on some hot chocolate listening to the wind rattle these old windows and I know that no matter what level of wheeling and dealing I find myself in, the kindness of the human spirit is the great gift that will truly transcend all time.