These days my world is pretty chill. As in –
Chill
1. an unpleasant feeling of coldness in the atmosphere, one’s surroundings, or the body: “there was a chill in the air” synonyms
After all, I AM in Alaska this winter. Due to concerns about corona virus and civil unrest I consciously chose to stay here, even though I’ve really come to hate the cold and fear the ice.
It hasn’t been an easy winter. One challenge after another. But I don’t think I made the wrong choice. My concerns were very real. It was a conscious, well-thought-out decision.
There are three ways wild animals deal with winter’s cold – adapt, endure or avoid. I’ve TRIED to embrace the cold. To adapt. Really, I have. But I find I’m just enduring much of the time.
I have avoided winter for the last dozen or so years the same way some birds do, through flight. Call me a snowbird, I don’t care. I paid my dues. Ten winters in Alaska, five of them hauling wood and water for survival in McCarthy. And another fifteen or so in the mountains of Colorado. I’ve simply had my fill.
Another way to avoid winter is through hibernation. I’m doing a little of that this winter. Not the sleeping all the time, but I rarely go out and about. I’m definitely more interior-focused. Which brings me to another definition of
Chill
2. A versatile slang word that means calm, relaxed, easy-going, or cool, as well as a hang out. Other definitions of Chill: When used to describe a person, place, or thing, typically means relaxed or level-headed, with no ill intentions. Can be a verb that means to “relax or hang out” together.
It took me a while to really land this year. I knew where I wanted to be when I left McCarthy in October, but for various reasons, the housing situation did not gel until January. But I am FINALLY settled for the winter in Palmer.
Palmer lies in a great glacial river valley right at the base of the Chugach Mountains, which means I have the vertical topography I need and love, but the roads are mostly flat and easier for me to negotiate when they get icy. It means I can stay here warm typing this post while watching the alpenglow on the mountain in my backyard.
I’ve been very introspective lately. I am spending a lot of time learning this winter, and many hours are spent processing images and writing. I spend a lot of time thinking as I contemplate where and how I will move forward into the next chapter of my life.
I’m also spending a lot of time hanging out with an old friend. The last few winters I’ve lived a solitary lifestyle, traveling and housesitting. I visited a lot of friends in my travels but didn’t stay in any one place for too long, or spend much time with any one person.
It’s been rather serendipitous, my hanging out in Palmer for a winter. I’ve been able to help my friend out after a recent surgery and also just be there for her when needed for emotional support. SAD syndrome is real, and sometimes a person just needs company.
So even though the challenges continue (this week I had to throw down nearly a thousand bucks to repair my poor little desert truck, who hates the cold even more than I do), and even though the Alaska winter is more than just chilly – it’s searingly, bitingly cold – I’m feeling pretty chill about my life right now. I’m feeling I’m in a good place.
Sometimes you just need to chill.
Thank you, Sheetal Bravon of Sheetalthinksaloud, for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge, “Glimpse Into Your World”.