People are ready to roll out the pumpkins.
Me?
Not so much.
Maybe it would be true, if I still lived in the south.
Because I live in the land of a seemingly endless winter, I grasp onto every last sliver of summer.
(I know what’s coming each fall, each winter, and even spring: cold temperatures, bitterly cold winds, snow, and possibly ice. The snow usually stays on the ground for several months. That’s the interminably long winter. When much of the rest of the country is enjoying a true spring, spring here translates into waiting for snow to melt and the weather to warm up. I am not a fan of winter, if it isn’t obvious.)
I am sure folks who live in Florida, Arizona, Texas, and parts of southern California are ready to dive into a bathtub of ice cubes about now. I realize months of unceasing, unrelenting heat is maddening and miserable.
But so is an endless winter. In different ways.
Living indoors for months on end because of bitter cold temperatures and subzero wind chills can drive people stir crazy with cabin fever. Plus, staring at a landscape of white (and varying degrees of gray and brown) gets incredibly boring after several months of the same.
Cold is bitter, harsh; it sinks its heavy talons in your shoulders and you are chilled to the bone. The white, cold landscape is uninviting, barren, a desert, a fruitless plain. Cold hurts my head and my lungs.
So now you know why I have a mental block when summer starts winding down: I’m preparing myself mentally for months of bleak and frosty surroundings.
Now, I know that the first snowfall of the season can be a lovely sight. Huge, fluffy snowflakes falling from the sky make the world seem like a magical snowglobe. A blanket of white covering the earth is a silent, monochromatic, peaceful scene… If it did not involve a snow storm, that is, with heavy winds. (I really don’t like the cold, so I couldn’t resist adding that last jab. :-D)
The next day, however, the ivory, pristine snow is no longer white; the street plows have pushed the snow to the sides of the road and it is grayish-black. After a few snowfalls of shoveling sidewalks and driveways, slower commutes, accidents, etc., the reality of winter hits. Plus, winter just costs more. We have to heat our homes and winter requires more clothes (heavy, winter coats and boots, hats, gloves, scarves, etc.), and extra equipment/gear, such as shovels.
Some people do not mind; in fact, some people out there (amazingly!) like this. Some people actually ENJOY the cold. I know it is hard to fathom (it is for me), but it is true. Further, some folks even enjoy outdoor winter sports. I am too concerned now about hurting myself, so NO THANK YOU. I have to choose the path of least possible personal injury, and I am all too happy to say NO to outdoor winter sports. I feel cold easily and standing (or exercising) outside for hours in the cold, with numb hands, feet, and nose, sounds like punishment. But I may be in the minority, and that’s A-OK. I don’t know how subzero temperatures will ever be enjoyable, but I can see that it seems to be a non-issue to many people, and necessary for their outdoor winter enjoyment. Ice skating, snowboard, and ski aficionados love it when it is cold (and snowy).
So, ok, I know this is beyond my control. You might say, “Move,”, and I’d say, Yep, great idea, I know, right?! But it’s not that easy. I don’t mean at all to sound like I’m complaining. (How do we say we don’t like something and the reasons why without it sounding like complaining?)
Because this post ended up being about the weather (can we say booooring!) and because it feels random, here is a song I like:
And here is another song I like: