Years ago, in a time that left me always warm and safe, I remember the cold vividly.
The snow was deep and coated everything it seemed.
Including the deer just outside the door.
They stood against the wind using the trees as a breaker, the snow as blankets to keep their body heat from escaping.
I feared for their safety, wishing I could invite them in and offer hot cocoa to warm their insides.
But I knew, oh yes, I knew, that in any weather they’d brave it with an inner strength that I hoped one day I’d find for myself.