My Prescription for the Winter Blues? Vitamin H!

As the shortest and darkest day of the year quickly approaches, I find myself searching for new ways of coping along with the tried and true methods such as standing in a south-facing window for a few minutes each day, making sure to move my body in some fashion other than walking to the freezer or pantry to search out something chocolatey and sugary. Fighting the urge to curl up in my robe and slippers as soon as the sun goes down, I can usually make it to 9 PM or so.

I'm glad my boys have a love of snow-boarding, so I know they're getting their fill of exercise and vitamin D. I, on the other hand have zero desire to put my feet onto anything slick. I took tumble years ago the first winter after we'd moved to Idaho. I was walking my little kids the short distance to school. I slipped and landed right on my bum. I was so stunned at how hard I went down, I hopped back up quickly and told the kids not to worry I was fine and let's get moving so they wouldn't be late. We made it as far as the little bridge that connected the neighborhood to the chain-link of the elementary school playground when, as soon as I stepped foot onto it, once again, I fell. This time a face-plant. By now the kids were in front of me and didn't see me go down. Thankfully they didn't see me crying. Hot tears of pain and also embarrassment. I gingerly walked ever so slowly back home and collapsed onto the couch. Later that day when re-telling what had happened to my mother, I could hardly stop crying. I felt so ridiculous. But mostly I was feeling....so so sad.

Earlier that Summer, our little family of six had moved from sunny Arizona, to Boise, Idaho. It was a glorious change. We lived with my parents for three months while searching for our first home. The kids played with the neighbor kids in my parent's cul-de-sac. Sometimes they wouldn't come inside until almost 11 PM. Dirty faces and bare feet almost black from the asphalt of running around playing night-games. I'd sometimes just wash them down with a warm wash-cloth just before they'd collapse in exhaustion onto their little make-shift beds. Only to repeat the same the next day. Day-light savings was new to us and we had zero sense of time.

As long as those summer days were, these winter days now seemed just as short. As I cried to my mother, unable to explain to her why I was crying all the time, she interrupted me, "Allyson!, I think you probably have seasonal affective disorder!" I sniffled, "Seasonal what?!" Several days later she brought me a special light-bulb. My husband purchased a window from a big box store and spent a Saturday afternoon installing it on the South side of our North-facing home. The rest of that winter I kept my lamp with the special light-bulb burning and took a few minutes to curl up in the rectangular patch of sun-shine that would beam in on the floor of our living room. And like all seasons do....winter passed and eventually changed to the next.

Like my mother did with me, I keep watch over my children this time of year. Checking in with them to see that they are taking their vitamins, getting daily doses of sunlight, and mostly reminding them that "this too shall pass". Some of them struggle more than others, but keeping in close communication is key, and it's never a bad idea to see a physician if feelings of despair set in and can't seem to shake off.

My latest coping method has been to revisit through the photos on my phone, hikes that Dave and I have taken. It transports me to the beautiful mountain ranges we have climbed and helps remind me to have gratitude for the beauty that surrounds us. Last night I came across our hike to Lower Calf Creek near Bryce Canyon National Park. As I lay in bed scrolling the pictures on my phone, I swear I could feel the heat of that day slowly creeping into my ice cold hands.

Who doesn't love a good ol' bloomin' cactus pic!?

Dave and I had gotten a late start on our spur-of-the moment hike. We didn't leave the Salt Lake City area until around 10:30 AM. Thinking it would be just an average "day-hike" we figured we'd have plenty of time to drive to the trail-head, hike to the water-fall and back and still arrive back home at a decent hour. "Decent" ended up being 2:30 AM the next day. We would have stayed in a local hotel in southern Utah, but since we hadn't planned ahead, we had no idea there was a marathon run scheduled in the area for that weekend. Zero available motel or hotel rooms meant driving home through the night with the promise to each other, as always, that we immediately pull over if we are the least bit drowsy.

Setting out for the water-fall, we figured it would be like this the whole way. Sorta nice and flat.

We were wrong.

I seriously would have rather taken the rocky part of the hike over this never-ending trail of sand. Hey! Who's that handsome trail-guide up ahead?!

The vegetation is beautiful. The sand?...well, the sand is sandy.

I am in love with the red-rocks of Southern Utah and Arizona.

He loves the red rocks too!

A bit of a sand/rock trail mix. And there's that handsome trail-guide guy again!

Just when you think you can't take the heat or the sandy trail one more minute, you get a little reprieve with some lush vegetation for shade. Although, the sand? It's still there.

Finally! The water-fall! The cold water is so welcome after such a sandy, hot hike! You can totally swim in it if you're brave enough to get past that initial shock of cold.

At least the hike back you know what you're in for. I will still say that in spite of the length on difficulty of hiking in sand most of the way, this is one of my favorite hikes ever!

And there ya have it! My little trip down memory lane during the darkest week of the year 2020. Tonight as I am writing this, Eli came into my office and told me he'll be spending tomorrow on the slopes snowboarding. You go boy! I won't be joining you. I will be planning my next hike. Both feet planted firmly in either rocks. Or sand.