by Monica Palmer
Raise your hand if you have complained about this Missouri winter.
Even if you haven’t audibly griped to a friend or family member, you’ve probably grumbled to yourself about having to shovel snow or needing to arrange child care for yet another snow day off from school. Winter weather poses logistical nightmares galore. Not to mention the hazards involved with getting out on icy or snow-packed roads and sidewalks.
My internal bellyaching about the cold was curbed the other day when my son started humming “Jingle Bells.” I stopped short, and I raised an eyebrow at him.
“Why are you humming a Christmas song?” I asked. “Christmas is over.”
He furrowed his brow at me and pointed out our front window to the obvious answer to my question.
“It’s still winter, so it’s still the holiday season.” He pronounced this fact and promptly walked away to indicate there was no need to discuss the validity of his statement.
This brief interchange with my 7 year-old made me think about winter in a new way. I realized I am much more tolerant of snow and cold temperatures in the days leading up to December 25th. I’m even ok with snow and cold in January, because that’s to be expected. February snow storms, however, stretch my tolerance to the limit. March snow? Well, I have ZERO patience for that.
If only there was some magical way to adopt my son’s “Laughing all the Way” attitude about the winter.
I think people’s attitude about their fellow man changes after the holidays too. For many reasons we become more conscience of the needs of others around us during the months of November and December. Giving to others during the holiday season is encouraged. We’re reminded by bells and red buckets in front of stores and collection bins in our churches that there are people who need our help.
Then January hits, and we realize we need to start thinking about ourselves again. After all, there are bad habits to nix and good habits to take up. So, our “giving selves” are often packed away with the tree and trimmings.
This winter has been more than inconvenient for many of our neighbors in need in Missouri.
There are seniors who already face mobility issues on non-icy roads who are home-bound with no access to food. There are kids that depend on the school-based breakfast and lunch programs that are inaccessible on snow days. There are unemployed men and women searching desperately for work who lose valuable days of job searching, because of businesses being closed due to weather or because of transportation limitations. There are single moms who have to lose pay to stay at home with their young children when daycares and preschools are shut down.
These issues don’t even scratch the surface of the winter weather “inconveniences” of the poor in our communities. The struggle these families continue to have with food insecurity and access to healthy food for their family is exacerbated in the winter months…including the ones that come after December.
The family you sponsor at Christmas time is probably still struggling in February and March. They may actually need your help now more than ever. Food bank contributions go down after the holidays and many families who depend on SNAP (food stamp) benefits are still trying to adjust to the lower benefit amounts that went into effect this past November. Furthermore, now is the time when a lot of families have to make crucial decisions about using their financial resources to pay for heat or food.
The reason we don’t gripe as much about the cold and snow of December is because we have that “holiday warmth” emanating from our core. We become more conscious of our blessings and bounty, and we want to share them with others.
I encourage you to climb up to your attic or storage space and unpack your holiday warmth as soon as possible. It may change your outlook about the remaining frosty days that remain between us and Spring, and it might also prompt you to warm the hearts of others.