Treasure Hunting

Winter has descended like a cold smack to the face. I was irritated as I dug through the attic this morning, trying to find a winter coat. And then, while clutching the steering wheel with my frozen fingers, because who knows where in the world my gloves are, the reality of the dark and dreary days ahead hit me. I can’t escape. I am going to have to walk through winter, like it or not.

It would be easy in this situation to put on my “grumpy face” and scowl at everyone I meet. I mean, I’m suffering here. When winter hits, the only exposure to the sunshine I receive is on the weekends. This does not bode well for someone with seasonal affective disorder. My whole mood declines in the winter, and not just for one day. So when cheery people stop by my cube at work I have to resist the urge to poke them in the eye.

Even worse I’m totally burned out on exercise and on my healthy diet. I need to shake things up but can’t seem to find the time to plan. So I keep doing crunches, and walking, and I sigh a lot. But this morning I realized something, my world may not be filled with sunshine and spring flowers but that doesn’t mean I need to have a miserable winter. I simply need to go treasure hunting. There are glimmers of hope and joy everywhere. I just have to dig a little harder.

Last weekend I was desperate to be outside. So I took my family to the park with the sole intent of getting out to the wing dams on the Missouri River to look for arrow heads. All kinds of things wash up there and I never know what I will find. Of course, the paths were all overgrown(waist-high) and there was “quick sand” (mud) but we persevered and made it. And what a delight it was.

Wing dams are made up of limestone and constructed by the Army Corps of Engineers. They are built to slow down the river for barge traffic. From afar they are unsightly and the Missouri Department of Conservation objects to them because they interfere with the natural habitat of the river. But aside from all of that, they are fascinating. We spent some time combing through the rocks and crevices. I kept finding pieces of glass and exclaiming “Sea glass!” only for my husband to say, “river glass!” Smooth pieces of glass brushed smooth by the waves is “sea glass” to me. And, it gives me the feeling that I’m at the ocean instead of a muddy old river. We found many pieces of petrified wood, which is a great treasure! And while we didn’t find any arrow heads, I came away with my pockets jangling and a fossilized jawbone(with teeth!) of some unfortunate beast. All in all, a good time was had by all. Until we realized walking in was the easy part.

My youngest is diabetic and had low blood sugar. Even though we had a treat, he was unable to walk through the tall weeds due to fatigue and weakness. I hoisted him on my back and carried him out. And that is when I realized, once again, how glad I am to be healthy. I can carry my 50 pound child when he can’t carry himself.

There will always be bleak times in my life. And I can choose to focus on the dark and ungainly, or I can go on a treasure hunt. I can and should look for the beautiful things in life and focus intently on their splendor for that is certainly better than wallowing in the muck of despair.

How about you? Feeling down in the dumps because the days are shorter and colder? How about a treasure hunt? I put my mementos on my desk at work in a special dish my boss picked up in Tanzania. And every time I look at them I’m encouraged. Remembering a beautiful day with my family is a treasure indeed.