A World in Black and White

I found this in my notes. I decided to finish it today.

Thanksgiving in my home last Saturday was beautiful, indoors and out. Inside was filled with laughter and the joyful sounds of little cousins playing together. The aroma of Thanksgiving dinner filled the house. Men gathered in one room to watch college football. The women chatted about this and that in the kitchen. The grandkids ran rampant throughout the house.

Later, a trip to the cabin through this first snow was magical. The new cast iron stove provided warmth to the cabin on this very cold night. Outdoors, the snow came down hard at times. The wind blew. The first snowballs of the year were thrown as my kids were leaving to go home.

The next morning beheld a most  beautiful outdoor scene. And the most amazing thing about it was the fact that no color was to be seen anywhere…except for an occasional cardinal at the feeder or sitting on a snowy branch in the big cedar tree. Everything was black and white. Even the sky was a heavy grey. It could have been a scene from a 1940’s movie. A scene perfect for It’s a Wonderful Life. A perfect scene for me.

Because I grew up in the 60’s, we watched a lot of older black and white movies on any one of the three channels available. Many of those were about the World War II, so…of course, they centered around Germany in the 1940’s. I believed in my young years, that if I flew to Germany and stepped off the plane, I’d be stepping into a colorless country. Yes, I thought Germany was truly black and white.  But I later discovered that Germany has very beautiful places filled with color. 

Sometimes, I think, life might be simpler to understand if everything was just black and white. It might be easier to find my answers to life’s hard questions. But then color adds variety in many ways. From nature, in all its brilliance, to the people who walk this earth, to decision making, to circumstance, to the way we live, interact, and react, with one another. Color creates a life that is more exciting and less dull.

How boring would life be without color? Very. But, I will say that these past few days have been quite serene. A blessing in black and white.

♥️

Andi