Winter Sparkle

One of the reasons I love living in Chicago is because I love the winter season. I know today is supposed to feel like 50 degrees below Fahrenheit (no I’m not kidding), but from inside the house I don’t mind it so much. I love winter for the beauty of watching falling snow and seeing white blanketed hills along the roads while I’m driving, but also because of its purifying purpose in nature, because it symbolizes a fresh start.

I look at my son who is almost three now, (i know, omg!) and I love how he approaches life, he wants to do everything himself and he smiles from ear to ear when he learns something new. When exactly do we go from being these happy confident children with that zest for life, to adults getting through each day like robots?

I recently learned that someone I knew died in a car accident, he was a leader in the community and a big part of the local mosque. While reading the outpouring of prayers and heartfelt messages on social media about him, I thought how wonderful of a person he was to have so many people love him and truly mourn his passing.

It got me thinking with this new year, this new beginning, I resolve to try and be more like my son and treat each day like a gift and not take it for granted. Like maybe instead of tuning out while driving home from work, I’ll just blast the radio and have a little karaoke session. I’ll pick up the phone when it rings instead of just waiting a bit and texting back whoever called me. Or when my son won’t let me dress him because he is to busy wiggling around being silly, I will just tickle him until he surrenders instead of threatening a time out. Basically I’m going to try to make everything in life, even the most mundane tasks, fun. After all don’t they say that only boring people get bored?

I hope I didn’t bring you down too much with my story here, but I just felt the need to write a few words celebrating a great person. Cheers to a new year and new beginnings!