Surviving December skies

I don't know what it is that when the cold overcast days of December come every year you go into a different state of mind.  The north wind sinks into your bones and seems to just stay there until the warm days of spring.

...When I was younger and just starting out with a family to support I use to loathe the dank cloudy December skies. It seemed no matter how hard I worked I could never be prepared for it. What I mean by that is the property taxes were due, paying LP gas heating bills, medical bills coming all at one time. There was always a person dressed in a fancy 3 piece that could smell money. They wouldn't sit by you but had no problem taking a part of your paycheck. And when you earn logging and sawmill wages there was never enough to cover it all. It seem the only thought that came to mind was “if we only make it through December everything will be fine”

Since those times the children moved on and lead successful lives. I believe they learned from my mistakes and watching us survive. And now it isn’t so hard to make it through December.

We live in a small community that was hit hard during this recession. And the biggest request during a Santa sitting and talking to the kids was sadly food. The gossip trail didn’t take long to spread the word and since then there is a lot of food drives to restock the local pantry. With the strength of this small community we will make it through December.

I found this video of Merle Haggard and his song "Make it through December"  I didn't always agree with his viewpoints but like his honesty.  This song seemed to play in my head every December.