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Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Blessings of a Nor’easter

I live in the Adirondack Mountains in upstate New York. If you haven’t traveled to my neck of the woods, the Adirondack Park is a 6 million acre state park that includes both state owned and private holdings, with over 2 million acres dedicated to a forest preserve. We’ve got Lake Placid and Whiteface Mountain up here, and it’s a gorgeous, quiet place to live and work. It also happens to be the setting of my current anthology release with authors Jacquie D’Alessandro and Kathleen O’Reilly, A BLAZING LITTLE CHRISTMAS.


There’s a lot to love about life up here. For one thing, it’s quiet. It’s fun to drive on deserted country roads where there’s no stress about the traffic. For another, there are no long lines at my post office and we get to know most all the locals on sight. The spectacular beauty is nothing to sneeze at either. But one of the coolest aspects is a phenomenon we’re experiencing now—the advent of the Nor’easter.

Every winter we get a few of these big storms. Tons of snow, whipping winds, low visibility, freezing cold temperatures. Some might say that’s awful. And I’m sure there are lots of problems associated with that much snow. But for me, it’s a great big excuse to stay indoors and count my blessings.

I love the opportunity to sit inside a cozy warm house and sip cocoa all afternoon, surrounded by my family. And nothing reminds me of the awesome power of nature as quickly as a big, bad winter storm. That in itself comes with a lot of important messages to think about. As in—the world is bigger and badder than me, and no amount of fretting, scurrying or working my tail into the ground will give me control over things that I have no control over. There’s a certain peace in letting go of your worries and saying—today, I did my best and that’s all I can do.

Mostly, I love that a winter storm tucks us in tight with the ones we love and reminds us that all we really need is right there at home with us. When the power goes out, we’re called to sit around the table and play board games by candlelight. And when night falls, I can still read a good book if I double up on the hurricane lamps and crank the wicks. Of course, my husband appreciates that no T.V. before bed means we ought to entertain each other.

So whether this winter finds you in the thick of a blizzard or on Florida’s sunny shores, I wish everyone a quiet day sometime over the holidays—a day to stay at home, unplug the family from the life static that is modern technology, and a chance to count your blessings.

Happy Holidays! And please do enter my contest this month at http://www.joannerock.com/ where I'll be giving away lots of great new reading material for your New Year.

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Joanne Rock is a three-time RITA nominee and author of over thirty novels from a variety of Harlequin and Silhouette series. Check out her website or her myspace page to learn more about her upcoming releases.

6 comments:

Karen H said...

Wow, what a picture you paint with your words! No wonder you're an author. I am not a fan of cold, snowy, winter weather. That's why I live in NC now. But I was born & raised in Michigan, so I know what you are talking about.

Estella said...

I am not a fan of the cold, but you paint a beautiful picture with your words!

Wolfy said...

The picture you paint is beautiful, and since I am in Alberta we get our share of the cold as well. Actually today is the first day that I have seen the sun in a couple of days and there has been no wind bringing our temperatures way down and giving us the wind chill factor. Have not had much snow yet, but know it is coming.

Joanne Rock said...

Karen, I moved around a lot before coming up here and actually found a lot to enjoy about all the places we lived. (The joys of southern weather were not just the warmth, but the humidity made my hair and nails grow long... I liked that!) A friend gave me a card on one of my first moves that had a Mary Engebreit print on it with the words "Bloom Where You're Planted" :-). It's not always easy blooming through the LONG winters, but I do try!

Michele L. said...

Hi Joanne,

Greetings from Northern Indiana! We had 4 inches of snow this evening! It is beautiful outside. Pristine fluffy white snow glistening in the moon light.

I know what you mean about blooming through the winter months. I just am thankful we get a lot of sunshine even though it is cold out. Somehow the sunshine always makes me feel so good inside!

Many blessings to you and your family at this holiday season!
Michele

Lois said...

We had a little, itty bitty snow yesterday, just enough to sort of cover the grassy areas. THat's enough. LOL And I still haven't read A Blazing Little Christmas just yet, but soon (right after I finish the one I'm on now!) :)

Lois