Back to normal

Well, the kids are back in school, the tree is in the garage, and before long the NFL season will be over and all that will be left is just everyday life. By now all of the good Christmas candy has been eaten, and the bag of gross, uneaten stuff is just staring at us waiting on us to finally throw in the towel and toss it in the trash.

Back to normal life, as it were.

If I’m being honest this is my least favorite time of year. It has this sort of in between feeling; from October through December it’s a constant rush of festive activities that seems to just hit a brick wall once the middle of January comes around and it’s just bitter cold. I guess if I were anywhere but the South I could at least look forward to snow, but then I’d be anywhere but the South, so I suppose it’s a bit of a tradeoff. I shouldn’t complain, I know; there are plenty of people that would love to have a few months of the boredom that going back to normal brings.

I should probably be thankful for normal. I should be glad for calm nights at home with the kids and a warm home to keep us out of the cold. The lamp in the corner isn’t as pretty as the glow of the lights shining on the ornaments, but it’s enough to read the hundreds of books I’m blessed to have on the shelf.

Maybe God gave us this season that seems so boring on purpose; maybe He knows us well enough to know that we need to slow down, and the easiest way to do that is to make it so cold and wet outside no one would dare go out there.

Before we know it, it’ll be summer again and we’ll be complaining about the sweltering heat and scrambling to find things to keep the kids occupied; in the meantime, I guess we should learn to appreciate going back to normal for a little while.

And pray Alabama has a better season come September.