The quiet resilience of a home in winter

You certainly can’t blame them for dreading winter. Our poor houses get pounded with cold winds, pelted with snow and ice. Houses just have to sit on their foundations and endure.

What makes it survivable is its occupants, who keep their insides comfortably warm. And when it's cold and dark, they turn on lights, at least until bedtime. When we were kids, the bathroom light was always left on all night. Our parents didn’t want their kids wandering around in the dark, falling into things and waking everyone up.

One winter when our family lived in a lovely old house, a big winter storm hit our town, leaving the yards and roads a foot deep in snow. It was bitterly cold. Surprisingly, a foot of snow was like a blanket, not warm, but by covering the roof so well, it helped keep the bitter cold at bay until the snow melted. When it was melting, chunks of it fell off the roof and piled even more snow up against the walls of the house.

An ice storm hit us one winter, and our ice-coated roof was not happy. It took almost two days for all that ice to melt, leaving our roof in dire need of some repair. Once all the repairs were finished, our house settled down for a long, cold winter. Mother Nature surprised everyone that year when spring arrived a few weeks early. Our place was ecstatic because she knew that soon her spring cleaning would begin. Within a month the storm windows were removed and the windows were cleaned.

Cleaning the front porch was next, and once that was finished, the porch swing was put back up, and the porch chairs were distributed very nicely. It was still a bit too cold for us to sit on our porch, but a few weeks later, we could sit out there for a few minutes each day when the sun was shining. Our lovely house was so happy she almost glowed. A few days of colder temperatures ended our porch sitting, but Mother Nature took pity on all of us, and the sun shone again.

Then came the other part of spring cleaning, which took place inside the house. That is not as enjoyable as outside, but it had to be done. It was hard work — all the mopping, scrubbing and furniture cleaning — but our house loved every minute. This was her cleanest time of year, and she was very happy. Of course, that super-clean house didn’t last more than a week, and soon life was back to normal — a bit messy but comfortable.

If there is a good part of winter, it is the approach of spring. Our house was so proud of being so shiny and clean, if only for a short time. Every year she had that to look forward to, and it made surviving winter less difficult because good times were coming. Yay for an early spring.

Laura Moore can be emailed at lehmoore1@gmail.com.