The Darkest Day

written by Lindsay

Welcome friends and family to the darkest day of the year. According to weather.com, the sun will rise today at 8:37am and set again at 3:39pm. It's 8:25 in the morning as I sit here and type, and I can verify that I first saw some light in the sky about 15 minutes ago. The cloud cover looks a little lighter than usual, so we may even possibly see a few rays of sunshine today. A few weeks ago, when the sun came out for a few minutes on a Saturday outing, Cavan was absolutely blinded by the light - it was as if we'd just crawled out of a cave. You would never believe how pale we all are right now!

Despite the dark and cold, we do have a reason to celebrate this weekend. Yesterday, after weeks of relentless pursuit on car-buying websites, we finally found one to call our own. We bought privately, so got a little bit newer car for the money - it's a white '99 Ford Escort with a hatchback. The space is incredible for a European car. We will easily be able to transport two kids, the dog and a barnevogn (pram) when we finally get around to buying one.

As much as I hate to sound like a spoiled American, I couldn't be more relieved right now. I will actually be able to run quickly and get groceries after getting off work and picking up Cavan from day care. We can drop off our recycling materials at the recycling center without encountering 20 minutes of blustery bike-riding there and then back again. The biggest relief, however, comes from being able to retire my bicycle for the time being. As much as I have enjoyed the exercise and the forced exposure to the elements, I have discovered that 20 weeks of pregnancy and winter weather are not the most ideal conditions for such a lifestyle. While I have no problems riding my bike at the moment, I have found that getting on and off requires more intense effort and concentration. The laws of physics were bound to catch up with me, as I rode down a wet street with a 20 pound belly, a 30 pound child and 10 pounds of groceries balanced on the top of my two wheels.

Looking forward, there are only brighter days to come. More mobility, and hopefully more fun activities. Right now we're looking into local swim halls, so that Cavan and I can get some good old-fashioned indoors exercise. Here's to living a more normal life !