The cold, the ice, the grayness.  January (and February and maybe into March) can have a serious impact on my attitude.  We have had a few really cold days.  Eyes watering, tears freezing, nose hair icicles kind of days.  Days that, unless you really have to, you don’t leave the house.  The side effect of not leaving the house is cabin fever.  Bickering, nit-picking, too much unspent energy locked in six small rooms.  Clutter, jobs not done, people in one another’s faces, and repetition of instructions all start to erode away at my confidence.  ‘It is a good thing that my kids are home educated’ becomes ‘Is it a good thing that my kids are home educated?’  We spent our afternoon, tucked up in the warmest room in the house.  I read, the kids listened.  While we were immersed in the details of the story, reading about a kid maneuvering his way through policies and practices of middle school, I had a learning moment.  Nothing in our day is arbitrary, or busy work.  Our days aren’t always jammed full, but they are never empty.  Sitting in a warm and sunny room, on a cold day, reading a good book together, is a pretty good way to spend our time.