Friday, February 26, 2010

Spring is a tease

Last weekend was a wonderful reprieve from our long, cold winter. It was in the mid 60s, sunny, birds were singing, and I don't think anyone was left in their houses. People around the neighborhood were jogging, walking, working in their yards, filling the bays at the car wash, etc. Finally, here was that hint of spring we'd all been waiting for. Sunday, it was 65. Monday, 45. By mid-week, we were struggling to get above freezing, snow showers filled the air, and the nights were dipping into the teens. Ugh.

Anyone who knows me knows that winter is, by far, my least favorite season. I get cold easily, I hate gray days, and I've had some bad experiences traveling in wintry weather (like doing unintentional 360s down the highway until I ended up in a ditch). Even a normal winter here in the South has me layering up in fleece and watching for the earliest sign of spring -- my daffodils popping out of the ground. Of course, lately my daffodils, which popped up a few weeks ago, have been shivering. It's been a cold, gray winter with more snowfalls than we typically have. I nearly had a stroke when I saw my last natural gas bill.

But this year, I don't think I'm the only one experiencing winter fatigue. People on the East Coast of the U.S. have been buried by one giant snowstorm after another. Residents of Texas and the Deep South even got a taste of winter -- a foot of snow in Dallas and snowfalls in atypical states such as Louisiana and Mississippi.

At times like this, I try to look for consolations and things to look forward to in order to get through the winter blues. For instance, I tell myself that it can snow and be cold now because I have to be inside reading RITA entries anyway. Maybe by the time I turn them in, the weather will have improved enough that I can start walking outside again instead of on the treadmill.

I think about where I'll be in less than a month -- Disney World! I LOVE Disney World, and it'll be a nice treat in between two deadlines and a board meeting. And at the end of next month, I'll get to enjoy a visit with my sister and nieces when they fly in for a week. Yes, my entire March is full to the brim, but there's a lot to enjoy in there. And hopefully, it won't be cold and there won't be a snowflake in sight and the daffodils will be in full bloom.

So, how has winter been where you are? Are you looking forward to spring? What do you do to get yourself through winter? Or are you a winter lover? And for our friends in the southern hemisphere, what is the weather like where you are now? It's odd for me to think that Christmas and Valentine's Day fall during your summer.

4 comments:

Rebecca Winters said...

I could relate completely to your post. I want Spring to come so badly, I'm using a flower to identify myself on the blog. It's a gorgeous poppy, putting me in mind of the glorious fields of poppies in France. Ah well...I can dream. We've been Siberia where I live, so I can't wait. One great sign. I saw a swarm of of thousands and thousands of European starlings. They psssed over my house for ten minutes the other day. It means Spring is coming. Yipee!

Estella said...

I live on the Southern Oregon coast and we have had a mild winter. About a week of freezing temps in early winter, but above average temps after. we do get quite a bit of rain, tho. I was born in Oregon, so it doesn't other me.

Linda Warren said...

I live in Texas and it's been cold, cold, cold. It snowed on Tuesday for the second time. Unreal! My husband counted 13 cars in the ditch on the way to his office. Texans can't drive in this weather. We're so-o-o looking forward to spring.

Linda

Linda Henderson said...

I really don't like winter. Number one, I have severe RA so the cold seems to be harder on me, and I use a walker and it's the pits using one on ice and snow. I'm really looking forward to spring. Although then we have to watch out for tornadoes. So it's always something.