For the last few days I’ve had a touch of the winter blues. I’ve never thought of myself as being particularly affected by the absence of sunlight, but let me just tell you: two weeks of dreary, muggy, rainy weather? Two weeks of nothing but gray outside?
Oh my word. If my disposition has been any indication, all that gray takes a toll.
Friday morning I was running errands, looking Gray Day #13 dead in the eye, and I found myself thinking that a bright turquoise sky and a bright yellow sun and some bright green leaves would be a welcome change from all the wet-leaf dreariness that has enveloped us lately. Several minutes later, when a brief little patch of sunlight peeked through the clouds for all of two minutes, I stood in the dead center of that little patch and looked up at the sky.
I couldn’t get over how much I’ve missed the sun.
I couldn’t get over how much I’ve missed color.
I told my husband that I think the gray days would be easier if it had at least been cold enough for us to build some fires (fires are orange! and red! and blue!). But since last week was about seventy four kinds of muggy, fires weren’t really an option.
Late Friday afternoon the boy and I hopped in the car for a quick road trip, and about ten minutes before the sun was supposed to set, it popped out from behind the clouds in one of the most glorious displays I’ve ever witnessed. Even the five year-old piped up from the backseat and said, “Mama! THE SUN!,” and we oooohed and ahhhhed as we made our way down the interstate.
Then I pulled out my phone (WITH BOTH EYES ON THE ROAD, OF COURSE) and snapped away.
You wouldn’t believe what those colors did for my mood.
There was pink! And red! And turquoise! IN THE SKY!
And I thought: funny how the gray days make you more appreciative of the colorful ones.
I think there just might be a metaphor in there somewhere.
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I’m first!! Those are gorgeous colors. That would cure my Grey mood too.
I know what you mean about missing the sun! Now if it would only snow down here in the South…
His Mercies are New every Morning…without the Gray we wouldn’t appreciate the colors!!
You are so right!!! We needed some color here, too, and praise Jesus we got it! This a.m., as we were sitting in church, a blinding ray of sun came through the windows and I almost complained, but remembered all those dreary days and just delighted in it instead!
“funny how the gray days make you more appreciative of the colorful ones.”
That’ll preach!
The only color we have here in Washington State right now is white. And lots of it. 10 inches of snow at our house right now and it is still coming down hard.
I’ll take rainy, gray and 74 over snowy, gray and 27 (here in MA) anytime-lol.
But I alwys tell myself, I wouldn’t appreciate the summer as much if the winter wasn’t so brutal.
Oh Yeah, baby! There is definitely a metephor. I have an old picture somewhere with a quote from Helen Keller saying that the most beautiful sunsets are made from stormy and grey skies. True that.
In our life? We have some beautiful colors coming on the horizon, I just know it!
Just be glad you don’t live in Poughkeepsie, NY. I was there one winter day many years ago, passing through from Connecticut. I got on a train there and rode down to NYC.
There wasn’t any visible color other than gray, even on or in buildings….
Beautiful pictures! It had been gray & snowy here (western NY- pretty common) for a while now, and I really didn’t even notice- until yesterday, it was SUNNY again, and beautiful sun on the snow…I had to get my hubby to take the baby for a while so I could go for a walk. I had a wonderful time.
Here in western PA, gray skies are almost a 3 month long ordeal. So I completely relate. Usually I get a 5 minute sunrise and the same for a set, and I love them so much more in January than you could ever imagine.
Amen to that! You are so right, there is totally a metaphor in there. How awesome that you got to see those beautiful colors!
I am not a good tolerator of grey days – sunshine is good, darkness is bad – metaphor – perhaps not – perhaps just how we roll (honestly our pastor used that phrase this morning and I made that awful snorting noise trying to choke back my laugh – he is just not a “how I roll”kind of guy) but I digress – glad you and the little man saw colors. Colors are good.
Yeah…
I’ve been HATING all the gray. I’m in Atlanta, so your weather often turns into our weather. I really enjoyed the sun going into my brain todat, as my husband called it.
I m the same way. January is kind of hard for me because all the excitement and color of Christmas is gone, and everything is stark and colorless. But I love Valentine’s Day, so I tell myself to hang on til then, and soon after we start getting our first blooms in March. I don’t think I could handle a place where winter lasts much later.
How good of God to give you a peek of glorious color!
My daughter likes to say “Look Mamma Jesus is Painting”
Oh my I feel as if I could have written this….what a dreary week this was in Georgia. To see the sun and just bask in the light today was heavenly (well except it was freezin cold! but I will take the sun any day!)
Glad He painted a little bit of the sky for you…
I’m not seeing the metaphor.
I have felt the same way! I know we have needed the rain, but my goodness, I am in need of some sunshine. I just want to be able to use my sunglasses for heaven’s sake!
Teehee. Have a bright and merry Christmas, friend! And thank you for the splash of color you bring to my world!
I agree! It was really cold here today but the sun was out! The first sunny day in two weeks. I was very excited!
Beautiful skies. I love them. Thanks for sharing yours!!
im so right there with ya on the gray. i like a good thunderstorm and all, but i do want it to pass. 3 kids cooped up inside from all the grayness doesn’t go over very well. and i too agree that i could handle the gray better if it was cold. sadly, most of our gray is muggy too.
i totally just posted something similar the other day. i’m sooooo ready to get back on the golf course! but in our case here in N TX, it’s been coooold and rainy.
but we don’t put fires in our fireplace because Husby’s more OCD than me when it comes to a dirty fireplace! :0)
From a fellow blogger, right down the road….
DITTO!!! As cold as today was, it was so beautiful! Let’s hope it lasts!
Just as blah here in Auburn, and I feel your pain. The weather has NOT helped me any at all. And the heat last week, my lands, I just wanted crawl in a hole somewhere til it all got better. Sheesh.
I was in your neck of the woods for the past week and I have NEVER seen such dreary weather for so many days. I was thrilled for that brief, sunny episode on Friday!
I understand what you mean about the colors of the sunset! We see sunset from our house over Charlotte Harbor. They can take your breath away some days! I really don’t do too good with grey skies. I start to feel gloomy! I guess it’s good I live in Florida! But, we don’t get pretty snow like lots of folks! Or seasons!
Yep! Our pastor said during the sermon today how JOY and SORROW are intertwined. Beautiful pics. Hope you get some sunny days soon! :)
I am totally with you on this one! ~:-)
Amen!!
I think I’ve always had SAD – that fancy name for “liking the sunlight a whole lot”!!
I am so excited that TOMORROW starts all over and it will start staying lighter longer every day!!! Time to celebrate!!!
So with you on the sun. I’ve always said that I am solar powered-too long without the sun and I start to shut down.
Sending some mental sunshine your way!
We live on top of a hill and my kitchen window faces west. Lemme tell you, even in the dreary I get some mighty fine sunsets with spectacular color. I’ll have to snap one for ya…
We live close enough to you that we’ve had the same weather and the past few weeks have done A NUMBER on my mood. I was so relieved to not have rain today. Even though now it’s turned bitterly cold. And yes, I realize ‘bitterly cold’ is a completely relative term.
Yep, I know what you mean. Did you see the sunset tonight? Gorgeous. My kids love to top the hill on Hugh Daniel and see the “sky that God made for us.”
This is exactly why I live in Florida!! I just crave the green of nature,and the blue of the sky and the water!! I can visit other places, but as I age I am more and more thankful for this wonderful climate. It’s the reason my blog is called holiday in the sun!! I feel like everyday is a holiday when I wake up and look outside my window!!
So glad the gray went away, and a gorgeous sunset replaced it!! You’re too fun to be down!!
Blessings,
Becky
I don’t care how much you want to be near me, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT move to the Pacific Northwest. We simply forget what the sun even is. Come May (June) (July), there’s this bright and shiny orb that shows up in the sky, and we like it, but we don’t recognize it.
We live our whole lives in shades of gray.
Deep, Lisa. That was deep.
Yes, you just might have a lesson in there…
My days have been pretty colorful around here. I probably should be gearing up for some grayness, just in case.
We’ve been having an awful lot of those kind of days here in NC too. At least for today it’s actually cold outside-feeling more seasonal…this after lots of rain rain rain for many days….ugg…
Believe me, honey, by April, I’m just about ready to take someone’s head off. I’d take a few days of your gloomy weather over the next few months I’m going to have to live through.
But the sunset was beautiful–and your point well taken. :)
I am with you on the cloudy, warm days lately. It’s been that way in NC too. Even though it’s 26 degrees today, I’m loving the blue skies!!
Every good and perfect gift is from above (from the Father!) This is awesome Boo!
~The Bargain Shopper Lady
Yesterday was gorgeous too. We were commenting about what a beautiful day it was (as long as I was indoors and not FREEZING *yippee* outside)!
I’m with you, sister. I’ve been singing JT’s “Here comes another gray morning…” here in your home state for a couple of weeks myself.
This morning was different. At 5:00 a.m. (puppy walking time) the sky was covered with stars. The air was still. The grass was frost-crunchy under our feet. It was a moment of pure loveliness even if it was 16 degrees. :)
May you have bright days and beautiful colors for Christmas!
amen sister! amen!
metaphor all over the place….
The link is to a picture of Lake Keowee (in SC) at sunset in June of 2008. We’ve used it as a screensaver for the last several months.
http://home.earthlink.net/~keatonfamily/SunsetLakeKeowee.JPG
Indeed. And Amen.
And that would be the story of our lives here in Wales…gray day after gray day. Have I mentioned it’s dark at 4:00pm this time of year?
Indeed! Sometimes when I see the sky I tell my DH, ‘there’s a Jesus sky up there today’.
Oh so nice to know someone, many, felt like I did. I was at work when the sun peeked for a few moments here in Ga. I wanted to run outside lift myself up for a good soaking of sun. It was worthy of a shout. he he he. How bout all the rain too, I was extremely thankful it was rain and not snow.
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