A Cold Minnesota Winter

It's been bitter cold around here this week, and I really haven't been going anywhere except over to Mom's. I'm thankful to have a garage to park the little blue bug in, and even in these frigid temps, she starts right up. The sun has been bright, I'm thankful for that, too, but even walking out to get the mail can feel a little bit like Siberia with the arctic wind blowing. The cats find warm spots to nap in ... on the carpet in the sun, or as for Punk, curled up in front of a heat vent. I walk around the house, trying to get some movement in, which seems lame but I guess any kind of movement is better than none. I think about the birds and animals outside, trying to stay warm. Tristin keeps wanting to go out on the porch, but I've only let him do that a couple of times, and then stood right by the sliding door the whole time he was out. I also think about all the homeless people, and wonder if there are enough emergency shelter beds for them. You don't really hear about people freezing to death that often, but I'm sure some do. This is one of those times that it's good to think about all that I have, and be grateful for ... a warm house, hot water, enough food to eat. It's easy to forget that there are so many others in the world that are lacking.