Slice of Life: Happiness is Found in Light

Here we go!  It's time for the March Slice of Life Challenge hosted at Two Writing Teachers.  It will be a busy month of writing, commenting, and learning with this community.  This year I've decided to try to focus my writing around happiness.  Stop by today's link up to join the conversation or find some great reading.   

When you live in Ohio you get used to dull blue-gray skies, especially in the winter.  It's as if the sun has been hidden away while the wintery winds push through.  The dark starts early in the evening and stays until the morning is well underway.  When you live in Ohio,  you go to work in the dark and come home to the dark.  Add to that the ominous snow clouds that seem to be stopping by quite often these days, and you have a world of gray-white.  It's as if color and light are silenced for months.

The gray seems to not only cover the sky, but it also seems to set the mood everywhere you go.  Everyone is a bit more grumbly.  Tempers are shorter and patience seems hard to come by even though time is something we have a lot of in these cold days that keep us inside.  Though there's little to do, everyone is tired.  "How many more days of this?" friend complains to friend.  "Will this ever end?" neighbor asks neighbor.  "I'm tired of white and cold," the newscasters say to those announcing the latest weather updates.  Everyone is ready for a change.

Today, however, was different.

I had arrived at school in the gray-black morning hours.  As I began my day of working with readers, I realized I had left my clipboard in my car.  I decided to brave the cold and run out to my car to get it.  As I neared the door I realized something was different.  Something was very different.  When I walked into the glass entryway I was greeted by light.  I stepped outside into the cold morning air.  The salt crystals still peppered the sidewalk which had snow piled high on both sides.  As I looked up I stopped suddenly.   Could it be?  Light?  Not just any light, but bright sunshiny light.  If the snow wasn't on the ground, and I couldn't feel the cold seeping into my bones, I would have wondered if it were the summer sun as it shone from above bringing radiant sunshine to our world.

The snow reflected the light, making it more intense.  It seemed that all was right with the world.  The sun glistened.  The snow glittered.  They played together as they bounced beams of light across the world; changing it from blue-gray to dazzling blue.  The sun's rays reached through leafless branches, danced off the tops of cars, and found its way into classroom windows as I pulled myself back inside.

This evening as I ran errands, the sun followed me.  It cast shadows as I walked.  It peeked through glass as I went into buildings.  It pushed into my car and rode with me from stop to stop.  The world was brighter.  People smiled at one another.  No one seemed to mind waiting in lines at the grocery.  "It's a beautiful day," friend said to friend.  "I think warmer days are coming," neighbor said to neighbor.  "I enjoyed the blue skies today," the newscaster said to the weatherman as he gave his newest forecast.

There's something about a little light to help us to see all that is right in the world.  Happiness is found in a moment of sunshine.