Sometimes the Freezing Season (my least favorite time of the year by far, as I may have mentioned...several hundred times recently...) feels like it's dragging on forever. If I'm being completely honest, I must admit I reach the "I'm So OVER Stinkin' Winter" stage by the end of January--never mind that we potentially have a LOT more cold and wind and maybe even white stuff (heaven forbid) lurking in our near future. (Incidentally, the Anger period is followed immediately by Bargaining: "We've dutifully bundled up every day in our cute wooly sweaters and jaunty hats and fuzzy mittens; we've unflinchingly shoveled the driveway and patiently scraped the ice; now can we please have Spring?" And, at least for me, next comes Rejection: "That's it, I've had as much of this as I can take--I'm moving to California!") Yes, the first month of 2011 seemed to last about seven weeks...one long, chilly, dark day after another. BUT...thanks in no small part to endless mugs of hot tea, cocoons of fleecy blankets, and the most blessed invention ever (the DVR), we weathered (ha ha) the trials of January and came out stronger on the other side. Even better news: February is shaping up nicely so far.
Maybe my mood started shifting upward when I happened to glance out the window while performing some mundane late-afternoon chore, and noticed with a small shock that it was still bright at 5:45 p.m. We're getting daylight back...a few minutes at a time, but I'll take it! Add to this the fact that the past two Sundays the temperature has topped out (for a few hours, at least) at 50 degrees. For me, this means I've been able to break out of the dull indoor-exercise routine I've been maintaining for months, and go running, without my knees getting all cranky on me. (For the boys, it apparently signals the need to play outside in shorts and t-shirts...while dodging the remaining mounds of hardened snow, and sheets of unmelted ice in the back yard...of course.)
February also means the return to my job after a long (paycheck-less-but-relaxing) break between semesters. I re-establish a rhythm of alternating "Professional Days" with "Household Management" days...and once things are humming along smoothly (past the inevitable hiccups such as "Where am I supposed to be today? What, work? Aaargh! I need to get dressed!) I reward myself with lunch out at one of my favorite restaurants. So there I am, just standing in line, minding my own business, ready to order my Tex-Mex deliciousness, when the clerk (who recognizes me and greets me like an old friend whenever I come in...it's my "Norm" moment...do you think that's a problem...at a fast-food joint? Hmmm...) suddenly beams ear-to-ear and announces, "You've won a free taco!" while handing me a shiny paper heart. Tortilla-wraped valentine? I'll take it! And speaking of valentines, we tend to ignore the Flowers and Candy Holiday around here. But to my great surprise, yesterday the Guy Gang crept out of the house while I was peacefully enjoying a little lie-down, and snuck back in--bearing cards and a jellybean-holding stuffed frog (that's what you get when one of your valentines is a 7-year old, I guess!) Cheesy? Maybe. But I'm feelin' the love, I tell ya! (or possibly that's just the sugar talking...but whatever!)
Finally, for me nothing quite says "Winter is on the way out" (and good riddance) like: Pitchers and Catchers reporting to Spring Training. It may still be February, but Spring must be right around the corner...right? Until then, I can have jellybeans (with my hot beverages) to get me through!
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