Winter Wonders

Winter means many different things to each of us - is it nothing more than a change of seasons, a different variety of sports, the hibernation effect so many experience, the heralding of the holidays, a chance to legally skip school on snow days, the crispness of a clear frosty morning, higher fuel bills to maintain our creature comforts, being snowed in or iced in indefinitely as time seems to standstill for the duration, a time to count one's blessings, a chance to do good deeds by offering necessities of life to the underprivileged, or a celebration of the stage before the renewal of life begins again with spring?

Yes, winter means all these things, or at least some of these things, to all of us but for me it is a time to reflect on my rebirth. I say rebirth because I was born in the sultry heat of August but was reborn two days before Christmas, 1984. It was on this day in 1984 that I underwent open-heart surgery to repair damage done to my aorta heart valve by rheumatic fever which in turn brought about cardiac arrest - my will to live was very nearly extinguished as well due to the length of time being ill to reach this point of death's door. It was the skill of a well-educated surgeon and God's will that gave me another chance to live, to earn my degree in business, to watch my son grow from a young boy into a man, to attend his wedding to a girl who I love as dearly as my own, to bounce my beautiful granddaughters on my knee, to kiss my dear mother on each of her birthdays, to be there when my father passed on to a better place, to find love anew and to continue to survive through the obstacles life tests us with such as hurricane Katrina - yes, there for that too.

Each year of these 33 years since, a grateful melancholy overtakes me as I do not fail to think of the nearness of my passing and bless those who were so instrumental in giving me renewed life... at 51, reflecting on winter is not only sweet but a true blessing for which I am eternally grateful.

Learn more about this author, Patty Moore.
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