The longest night of the year calls for comfort food and cozy robes, reading scary stories in bed, and a walk around the neighborhood to not let the dark + cold + wintry wind get the best of you. That's how I started my night (which started at, what, 5? 4:30? Way too early, thank God we're on our way back to longer days). I plan on finishing it by snuggling in with my heating pad and Teddy Bear, then waking up to one last day of work for the year.
And what a year it's been. I'm ready to close this chapter and start a new one - no, things aren't going to change just because the calendar does, but the mental shift from 16 to 17 feels overdue. (All this to say, my personal 2016 was pretty okay. Work life, home life, and family life were good. That they were good in such a tumultuous year means I have lots to be thankful for as we countdown to the new year.)
So that's where I'll end on this longest night - with gratitude and the knowledge that long nights make us change our perspective on the rest of our nights. As we learned in 7th grade science this week - if the Earth wasn't tilted at a perfect 23.5 degrees, we wouldn't have seasons. Twelve hours of day would follow 12 hours of night, and Chicago would exist in a perpetual state of chilly 40 degree temperatures. I need seasons. I'm glad we have the tilt. I'm thankful for the longest night, and looking forward to dawn because of it.
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