nyone who knows me knows that I am not a lover of winter. I do not ski. I am miserable when I feel cold. I do not like to drive in the snow. I neeeed sunshine! I am truly a warm weather lovin' kind of gal!  
 
You know, winter actually might not be all that bad, if only the sun would shine a little more often. This has probably been the dullest grayest winter I can ever remember. I thrive on blue skies and those have been too few and too far between this winter.  
 
So this morning when I pulled the car out of the garage on the way to take the kids to school, I was almost brought to happy tears when I got hit square in the face with sunshine. I didn't put on my sunglasses, no, in fact I rather enjoyed the squintiness. It reminded me that all things are relative. What would have greatly annoyed me in August, a time when the sun shines nearly every day and the heat and humidity are generally unpleasant...felt awesome in February, a month that has maybe seen two sunny days.  
 
And then that got me to thinking...  
 
How much would I appreciate the sun if it shone every day? Would I take it and it's warmth and beauty for granted? Might I even start to feel annoyed by it's brightness? Do we need some gray skies to fully appreciate the sunny blue ones?  
 
There is a beautiful song called For the Weary that talks about this very thing. (You can hear an amazing version of it, here, by the exceptionally talented Allison Sattinger.) The song talks about an optical phenomenon called Alpenglow and how when life is going great and all of a person's days are sunny, one might be too busy and distracted to notice something as beautiful as Alpenglow. But when life is tougher and filled with mostly gray days, a person is more able and apt to notice the beauty around them...more apt to appreciate it and not take it for granted.  
 
...the steeper the ridge line, the higher the sunshine, the sweeter the Alpenglow,  
the more the resistance, the greater the distance, the sweeter the Alpenglow...  
 
There is no Alpenglow in Parkersburg, but today there is sunshine.  
 
Wherever you are, I hope you are enjoying the Alpenglow.  
 
And if you are still amidst the gray skies, hang in there, the Alpenglow will come:)