Merry Christmas!

So the big day is almost here! I hope you have all at least started your Christmas shopping by now! I love Christmas time—not because of all the shopping and buying of all these things we don’t need, but because of the fact that it is one of the few times of the year where families make that extra effort to be together. It is sad that we need an event like Christmas to do that, but if that’s the way it is, I am glad Christmas comes every year.

Well, not much has happened since my last blog post. I have managed to get out on a few snowshoe hikes and still have my feet intact, so I am pretty happy about that. It has been well below freezing here for the past week or so, and it has been pretty cold up on tops of the mountains where I have been hiking. At least that means that I have had the mountains all to myself lately. It has been incredibly peaceful hiking and snowshoeing these past few days. It has snowed almost nonstop for the past 5 days or so, with just periods of a few hours here and there when it let up. The mountains have been hit really hard, and therefore, I haven’t had much luck tracking lately. When I went hiking today, even my snowshoe tracks from yesterday could not be seen, and yesterday I was sinking into the snow a good 6 inches or more! It seems that all the tracks are being covered in a few hours after they are left, making my job difficult. However, it has been great getting up in the mountains and breathing the fresh air. The valleys are full of smoke from all the furnaces and heaters running in the houses down there, so up high is an escape from all that junk. It has been so silent hiking lately. It seems that the only sound I can hear is the snow crunching under the weight of my boots or snowshoes, and the occasional tree unloading the snow off its branches. It has been great and I have enjoyed every minute of these last few hikes, and even the moments when I was totally lost because of the poor visibility, or because of my decision to take some random path through the mountains that I had never taken before, but felt like exploring:) I have been trying to do this much more lately, since I see my time in Poland soon coming to an end. I have been choosing ways up the mountains that I have never taken before, just to see what’s there. It has been kind of fun and has added a little more adventure to each day.

I have also been running each morning in the dark and snow. It has been incredible too and a great way to get the day started. The first few minutes are very cold, but then it becomes tolerable after that and actually rather enjoyable toward the end. The other day, as I was waiting for a car to go by before crossing the street, a perfectly-shaped snowflake fell on my shirt! It was the first “perfect” snowflake I have ever seen, just like all the ornaments and decorations. It only lasted about ten seconds before it started to melt. I guess that means that perfection never lasts, but we all have our moments of perfection. It is funny how sometimes we are more aware of small things like this than at other times.

As for my Christmas, it will be spent in Torino, Italy. I am flying to Milan in a few days and will then travel to Torino by train for Christmas, and then over to a region called Aosta, which borders France and Switzerland, in the Alps. It should be fun and I am looking forward to seeing some parts of Italy that I have never seen.

So here is what I want to say about Christmas. Let us remember two important things this holiday season: (1) Remember the less fortunate and the people that need a little love and friendship this holiday season, and (2) let's be extremely grateful for having each other and let's realize how truly lucky we are. We should really treasure the moments we have together and not take them for granted.

Now, if you will excuse me, I need to attend to another Christmas tradition, courtesy of Clark W. Griswold. Merry Christmas everyone!