Each year I look forward to Winter Solstice, not because winter is ending. It isn't!

The coldest weeks are still ahead of us. The dark mornings remain and the fog still settles heavily across the paddocks. Winter has not loosened its grip just yet.

This year I have noticed the mornings more than usual. At 7am, as I take my son to the bus, it is often still dark. Some mornings the fog is so thick it seems to absorb what little light there is. Houses glow softly from within while the rest of the world feels half asleep.

And yet, beneath those dark mornings, something is changing.

Winter Solstice marks a turning point., the longest night passes and, almost imperceptibly, we begin the slow return to the sun.

I have always been a summer person, so perhaps that's why I love this day. Not because winter is over, but because I know we are heading back towards the light.  Nothing dramatic happens., the next morning doesn't suddenly feel brighter and the following week doesn't feel warmer, but I like knowing it has begun.

I remember years of taking my son to winter rugby practices. Little by little, the evenings would begin to change. The floodlights still shone across the field, but there was a little more light left in the sky. By the time practice finished, you could see your way back to the car. The darkness was beginning to loosen its grip, even if winter itself was far from finished.

It is one of those things I have always noticed. Not the big changes, but the small signs that something is shifting.

One tradition we brought home from kindy was inspired by Jólabókaflóð, an Icelandic custom centred around books and spending an evening reading together.  While we never embraced it in its traditional form, I have always loved the idea behind it.

Winter invites us indoors. It creates space for gathering in ways that the brighter months often don't. Perhaps that looks like books and hot chocolates. Perhaps it's a puzzle spread across the table. A deck of cards. A board game that everyone suddenly becomes obsessed with.

This year, my daughter has re-discovered Cluedo, so there is a good chance our Winter Solstice evening will involve hot chocolates, candlelight and a mystery to solve.

I like the simplicity of it, no elaborate plans., no perfect traditions.  Just a candle on the table. Warm blankets, something warm to drink, the fire roaring and the people you love gathered close while the darkness settles outside.

A small pocket of light in the middle of winter.

For now, there are still dark mornings ahead and the coldest part of winter has yet to arrive. But the light is returning, minute by minute, whether we notice it or not.

And perhaps Winter Solstice is simply an invitation to notice.