The sun reached her nadir yesterday at 10:58 AM EST as many people were preparing for their holiday celebrations. For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, we begin our 6-month journey back to the warmth of the summertime.

It’s no wonder that we are built for resilience as nature showers her experiences of recovering from the depths of winter’s darkness towards the fullness of summer’s long days like the clock that she is in our lives.

At our home on the Allegheny River, we always joke about the Two-Suns that we see on many of these winter days. The sun is low in the sky over the hills, across the way, and her reflection on the River both brightens and warms our house. It’s a treat we have only in the winter, as the sun is too high to reflect in the summer. We love the light and warmth that fills our house on these short winter days and provides a bit of hope against the bleak landscape of brown and gray.

This is a good time to enjoy simple pleasures like family who warm our hearts and we wish you the best for a blessed and fun-filled holiday season.

© Richard Citrin, 2021