Rain, rain.

Every February at our house the winter doldrums set in.

The holidays and the excitement they bring are over. It’s been cold long enough that we are tired of it, the prospect of any snow is met with sighs and complaints. And it’s just a wet, soggy, muddy mess outside.

I take the girls to the farm less during February because I’m tired of doing laundry and cleaning mud off my car from where they kick my seat, kick their seats, and rub their muddy feet on the doors and sometimes windows. (Who even knows how they get their feet up TO the windows)

That means we are indoors more. Which means the TV is on more. The kids are swayed by commercials.

Kids “Mom! That doll pees in her diaper! It’s so cool! Can I have it?!”

Me “No. Why don’t you clean up where the puppy peed in the garage?”

Kids “Eeeewwwww. That is SO gross. I don’t like pee!”

Me “???”

It’s a great mystery, the mind of a child.

The lack of sunlight cuts down on my motivation to start home projects.

Which to most would be good thing because I have time to plan them out in my head rather than starting and hoping it works out.

For example: I’m planning what color to paint the bathroom based on how I’d like to decorate it rather than my usual method of going and finding the cheapest gallon that looks fun at the fixer-upper-store and then painting things to match. Probably a wiser approach…but it seems boring to me. And boring projects are harder to start…and so the bathroom is not going to get painted this month.

But we ARE resting. Rainy dark evenings aren’t inviting to go out and socialize in so we prefer to stay in and cook at home.

Cook, clean up, snuggle, and talk to each other. Spending time just being, not accomplishing as much which for us is an anomaly. In that space the girls giggle while they fix each other’s hair, coloring books are happily used, they rearrange their rooms and play with the toys that are neglected during better weather. They are learning to get along a little better. They argue like angry Italians with red faced shouting and wildly gesturing arms and are learning to apologize to make up. The apologies are coming easier and more often without my prompting. Self initiated apologies are very often sincere. They are learning relationships.

And that makes it a beautiful season to me.