Years ago, my husband and I used to go snowmobiling. Even way back in high school, we’d get together with friends and hit the trails. It was so fun. As we got older, we went with my sister and her husband, riding through the snow-embellished woods and eventually stopping at a local eatery to unwrap, stretch, fuss with helmet-hair, grab a bite and go again. We had no heated seats, no miked-up headgear, no warmed handlebars. I guess we were either dumb or tough, probably a little of both!
One night, I was following my husband, sister and brother-in-law. Each of us had our own sleds and they had gotten a bit ahead of me when all of a sudden I came upon a fork in the trail. I sat there dumbfounded, not having a clue if I should go left or right. It’s like I could have tossed a coin, I was that baffled. Eventually they came back for me, and after that I was always kept snug in the middle of the pack.
As far back as I can remember I’ve been directionally challenged, to put it mildly. My family teases me that I’d get lost going to Tilleda. They all know, if you want to go anywhere, just ask Mom and then take off in the opposite direction and you’ll get there. It’s just not my strong point.
Years have passed since we’ve gone snowmobiling. Eventually selling the machines, I can honestly say, once in a while when I catch a whiff of snowmobile or hear the drivers revving up their motors or see them out on the trail, a yearning comes over me and I wish I could be back out there once again.
Nonetheless, I find enjoyment in other mid-winter activities. Football is a great passion of mine, thanks to my husband. When we first got married, the Packers would come on and I would settle in for a Sunday afternoon nap. Seriously, it was like I took a sedative. I zonked right out. Eventually through the years I morphed into this crazed Packers fan who cannot wait for football season to start. Thanks, my hubby.
Now that the Pack is out of the picture, I still enjoy a good game of football. I am fond of the Seattle Seahawks, who as of this writing, are still in the playoff run. I like Russell Wilson. My husband and I followed his college career as quarterback for Wisconsin. He is solid and sure, a good man as well as a very good football player.
Attending our daughter’s sporting events is another pleasant past-time, and in so doing we connect with other moms and dads supporting their kids as well. It’s a good social activity that we enjoy as a family all school year long.
Airing now is American Idol. I love it. It doesn’t have anything kicked, thrown, bounced, hit or dribbled in it. It is as far away from a sport as a person can get. I would be lost without sports, but once in awhile a girl’s got to have a break. I’m a die-hard AI fan. At the end of the show when the voting takes place, I speed-dial my favorite contestant’s assigned number. Over and over. Yes. I do.
Another favorite pastime of mine that I enjoy year-round is reading good books. For educational purposes, in process is “Making a Good Brain Great,” by Daniel G. Amen, M.D. For entertainment, I recently finished “The Book Thief,” by Markus Zusak, set in Nazi, Germany. Through the pain-staking efforts of the main character’s kind and patient adoptive father, she learns to read and, consequently, falls in love with (and steals) books. Intertwined, the family secretly hides a Jewish man in their basement. It is well-written and extremely emotional. (The narrator, however, is rather, um, grim.) I did not want it to end.
I do not care to read predictable, boring writing where the author has cranked out a multitude of books that follow a certain direction or theme. “The Book Thief” twists and shifts, and the author takes the reader along with him, teasingly dropping hints before actually disclosing the outcome. (Read anything good lately? Let me know!)
I love to bake. There’s nothing better than a warm kitchen on a chilly cold-winter’s day, making the whole house smell of cookies or cake or a number of other yummies. I usually resign myself to my family’s favorites. I’ve attempted new recipes but I must admit, the oldies are the goodies in this house. Freezing batches of cookies until I have enough, I box them up and send them out to our boys so they can enjoy homemade sweets, too.
Having enough time to keep my house tidy and the laundry kept up is a blessing to me. With outside chores taking up a chunk of time in the morning and later afternoon, I have a stretch where I can work inside. I won’t go as far as to say I actually enjoy cleaning, but I so enjoy the settled feeling I get after!
From sports to American Idol to books to baking to keeping house, despite the cold and snow, the winter will fly right by. Sure it will! January’s almost over!
(“Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind and to be subject to their husbands so that no one will malign the word of God.” Titus 2:4-5)
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