How Do You Make it Through?

Does weather ever depress you?  I never thought it affected me, but right now I am longing for sunshine and sandals, and what I am seeing is snow, snow and more snow.  This winter we have had more snow than I can ever remember, and Mother Nature doesn't seem to want to let up.  Usually by now, we're scrapping our heavy coats for sweaters and light jackets.  We did have a week of great weather, but now it's back to looking like winter.  This is what we woke up to on Thursday.  

Our morning drive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's a picture through the window of the van, and obviously the quality is terrible, but you get the idea.  It is just depressing!  I am itching to ditch my socks and long pants.  I want shorts.  I want skirts.  I want cute sandals and painted toenails!  I think the gods are teasing us with this nice weather and then ripping it away once we start to believe we're actually through the winter.  It's almost May for goodness sake!

Oh well.  I can't control the weather, can I?  And if you think about it, it's really echoing how I have been feeling as of late.  It sure doesn't help though.  But what's that cliche that you always hear?  When life gives you lemons make lemonade?  So, when life give you snow, make snowmen, right?  And when life gives you crap, make...what?  You get the idea.  Make the best of your situation.

Even though my circumstances suck, and I am broker than broke, I still have what really counts.  I have a husband who is probably the best person I can imagine.  I have two beautiful, wonderful, lovely, amazing, miraculous daughters who make everything worth it.  I have been feeling for a long time now that there is a great change coming to my family, and right now, we are in the midst of it.  We're taking large leaps and have no idea where they are going to land.  Isn't that the best part of life sometimes?  The anticipation?  The mystery? Mmmmm, the verdict is still out on that one for me.  But, I was always told to look on the bright side, and I think this is a really valid and helpful practice. 

What I have in my life is worth more than any paycheck could bring me.  It's worth so much more than that feeling of security I crave.  I can't believe how blessed I am most of the time.  How could I have such a life when the odds were stacked against me from go?  I should be a statistic.  My parents divorced when I was two years old, and it was a cat and mouse game between them most of my life.  Unfortunately, and not purposed by them, I got caught in the middle a lot.  My mom remarried my worst nightmare.  The blows to my self esteem I suffered at his figurative hands should have left me unable to make a normal life.  I learned nothing about good parenting from him.  And then my mother died, leaving me to fend for myself at the age of fourteen, not to mention worry sick about my little sister, for whom I could do next to nothing to help back then.  There's no way I should be where I am.

But somehow, I was able to tap into some inner strength that held me all together when I was falling apart, and I came out the other end a better and happier person.  Those circumstances, that I had absolutely no control over, were a catalyst for the person I became.  I realized that I had power over one thing and one thing only: myself.  I don't have power over my circumstances.  I can't force the weather to cooperate any more than I can make time go faster or make money sprout out of the ground, all of which would be utterly fantastic.  But what I can do is look on the bright side and see those things in life that make all of this...junk...worth going through. 

Is there something you need to look differently at today?  What keeps you going through the tough times?