Trares
The wind rattled the windows with every hefty gust.
Bitter cold awaited anyone who stepped outdoors. Sunshine and blue sky may have been the order of the day, but a few moments outside brought nothing but Arctic vibes.
Seemed like a perfect day to stay inside.
The Trares family woke up last weekend to a standard — but disheartening — January morning. Temperatures were hovering around 10 degrees, and the weatherman made it clear that it wasn’t going to get much warmer at any point.
These are the kinds of days where you don’t need much convincing to spend it lazing around on the couch. So that’s exactly what we did.
Anthony and my wife were excited to stay in pajamas, wrap up in blankets, light a few candles and just get cozy.
Me, not as much.
It’s not that I don’t appreciate a day to do nothing and have no commitments to attend to. I love to lay out on the couch and focus on a good book. (Side note: A few weeks back in this column, I mentioned the books I’m excited to read this year. I’m well into “Hemingway’s Hurricane: The Great Florida Keys Storm of 1935” by Phil Scott. Good read so far.)
But I’m also notoriously unsettled without anything to do — an errand to run, a chore to complete, something to keep me busy and moving. Both my wife and Anthony make fun of me being up and dressed, ready to go to get groceries or run to the hardware store, while they’re just barely out of bed.
So I hoped to strike a balance on a cold day. We could stay inside, entertaining ourselves with whatever we could.
As such, we had a chance to continue our Hullabaloo of Hobbies. Ever since the holidays, we had been delving into potential new interests and digging into old ones to pass the winter.
We all gathered in the kitchen to get started. My wife had received a watercolor painting kit, with each page featuring an outlined item to try her hand at painting. The activity allowed her to focus on something creative and soothe any anxiety that might be plaguing her.
Anthony was ecstatic. Now, he had someone to paint with. He pulled out all of his watercolor art supplies, including a palette of dozens of colors, brushes, paper and a color wheel, and took a seat next to her. For more than an hour, their careful brush strokes resulted in sublime paintings, including a sea turtle for Anthony and a cherry pie for my wife.
Meanwhile, I focused on one of my hobbies — trying new things to cook. In preparation for the week, I was making a big batch of a black bean chili, which I could simmer on the stove all day. I chopped the onions and peppers, roasted tomatoes, shredded chicken and added it all to a big pot. The scent only added to the comfy atmosphere of the day.
While it was cooking, Anthony and my wife moved to their next activity. My wife had discovered a love of puzzles last year, and for Christmas, I bought her a new one to get started on. Dumping out the 1,000 pieces on the table, she went to work, flipping over each one, identifying edge pieces and slowly trying to put it all together.
Anthony, for his part, found some old puzzles he had in his toy room and went to work right alongside her.
By the end of the day, we were all filled with a sense of accomplishment. The watercolor paintings were drying on the kitchen island. Anthony had finished his three puzzles, while my wife had made good progress on the border of her puzzle. I had a dish I could serve up for dinner in the coming week.
Even on a day when a majority of the household didn’t step outside, it didn’t feel like a waste. It felt like a win.
But too many more like it, and it’ll be cabin fever for me.
Ryan Trares is a senior reporter and columnist for the Daily Journal. Send comments to editorial@therepublic.com.
