A hazy shade of winter

It has been very wintery around here: inside me and outside my window. We have been plugging away at January, and I for one am happy to see it go. Sometimes I like winter--wearing scarves that I have knitted, snuggling under a down comforter, watching college Basketball, drinking coffee and cocoa, watching the snow fall, sitting by the fire, making homeade soups and breads, skating with freckles until one of us falls, and breaking out the warm winter sweaters. This year, however, I am already tired of it--scraping my car windshield in the morning, looking for missing mittens, putting on a few pounds, watching the beautiful white snow linger in my yard until it turns grey, missing opportunites to play at the park, wearing the same things over and over again, not shaving my legs, and having static electricity in my hair. I am ready for some sunshine. Come on springtime.

"You are only as happy as your least happy child".
Frankie Hech
"the Middle"

Freckles has had a hard time adjusting to school. Even though her grades are good, she likes her teacher and she has made friends, she still gets a tummyache every morning before school. I want to cuddle her and protect her from the harsh world of public school, but know that the best thing I can do for her is love her up, pray for her and kiss her goodbye each morning. Apparently, a girl in her class, (we will call her "L" ) has been giving my little girl a hard time. "L" is that "popular" girl in the class who is not really well-liked but has a lot of power. (remember that girl, girlfriends?) "L" is pretty, has the teachers fooled, is manipulative and is friends with the mean poplular girls in the other class. She asked freckles to sit with her at lunch the first week, but freckles already had plans with her sweet, unpopular, likeable dork table of friends. Since then, "L" has tipped my girl's desk over, told her she didn't like her outfit and started a rumor that Freckles and her male seat-partner were getting married. Though it sounds funny to some, my heart aches for my little girl, who is learning to manuver through the complicated world of girls. Stupid "L" seems to be taking her insecurites out on my cute little freckles. Part of me wants to rescue my little one, but I know that this is a rite of passage for her. We talk about it every day and I have to bite my tongue to keep from bad mouthing "L". Yesterday, a little ice cream helped soothe her little fragile heart after the bully rolled her eyes and whispered to her friends about freckles on the playground. ggrr. So, Icecream, hugs, prayers and sweet friends are my girl's tools for dealing with her first real interaction with the "mean girl". A hazy shade of winter indeed.