Rainy Days

I am stuck inside today.  I don't know how many inches of rain have fallen, but every time I look out the window it is not just raining, but pouring.  And it's cold.  So, I have wisely given myself the day off.

Sometimes I spin my wheels on days like today.  I look for breaks in the weather and fret about the work I am not getting done.  But not today.  I haven't gotten much done inside either, and that is OK too.

I have, however, taken some deep breaths, and as a working mom of three, that is a very good way to spend time.  As we head into the dark and rainy days of winter, I will find myself with days like this.  And it is part of the way I manage this job.  As a gardener, I live by the seasons.  In the Spring I knock myself out working at Spring's frenetic pace.  I don't sleep.  I'm consumed by the garden and my family begins to think that I am bipolar.  By the end of summer, the craziness of the garden and my personal craziness is subsiding.  And so I don't feel guilty at all diving into the slower, darker days of winter.  My psyche needs the rest.

Besides, now I get to read my gardening magazines, and daydream about new plants that I will want to try out in the spring.   And give my back a much needed rest.  A day like today can be depressing, but only if you have to be out in it.  For us gardeners it is a gardener's renewal.