In a (literal) flurry 17" of snow, Winter arrived last week - and its here to Stay. Like an unruly houseguest, winter has muscled its way into our communities and households, sucking up street space, eating all the best food and refusing to replace the toilet paper. In its wake, it will leave chapped lips, cracked cuticles, static-y hair and runny noses.
Worst of all, Winter takes away all my motivation. Aside from my need to consume thick calorie-laden carbohydrates and sleeping in/then wearing my long johns to work, there's not much I can get excited about. In fact, the only thing that is productive in the wintertime is my cough.
Christmas distractsfor a little while by "requiring" me to purchase shiny things and shiny wrapping paper and create more gooey carbohydrates to eat, but that -at best- is only a temporary fix. There should be an interim holiday in January - like "You're Not Even Close to Being Done but Here's a Mandatory Visit to Jamaica Anyway" holiday. Yeah, I like that.
Two weeks ago, I was coming off a terrific trip to Washington DC (where there was no snow, by the way). I came back re-energized, ready to move into 2011 with new ideas and hope. Was it the sunshine? All the walking? Or was it just not feeling like a crusty, chapped, white blob ...? In DC, one can wear cute winter hats and leather gloves - not the enormous, sexless Russell pants with sweater mittens and fleece-lined bras. Perhaps its simply the wardrobe, or perhaps it was residule Vitamin D from my November trip to Zambia.
Perhaps I should make peace with Winter - play with it a little. But playing with winter is a little like playing with a fuzzy kitten who needs its claws cut. Sure, you may get a few nice cuddles and laughs out of it, but eventually your couch will be shredded, there will be hair everywhere and you'll both feel bad.
It's time for winter to go back to the pound. For now, I'll settle on getting out of my pajamas and making a cup of hot cocoa. Now THAT'S a winter tradition that I can wrap my hands around.
3 comments:
"In fact, the only thing that is productive in the wintertime is my cough."
YES! I so feel you. I have been sleeping in, overeating and generally embracing sloth to the point where I get really annoyed when I have to get up to pee. And we don't even have snow here yet.
Bah humbug!
You don't like winter because you haven't good hot springs nearby!!!
;-)
I've pencilled in a snow shoveling shift on my daily to-do list from now until the end of April. I could just as well have used an indelible laundry marker.
I've got it down to a science. Wake up every morning between 5 and 6. Go outside and shovel the walk and sweep off the cars. Drive to Brooklyn Park. Daydream at my desk about what kinds of shovels I will buy next. Drive home. Hack out a parking spot by the curb (I think it's still under there somewhere) after the latest lame-ass street plowing attempt by the city. I may have to resort to dynamite if the snow cliffs get any taller.
I used to love the winter. But that was when I was 21 and played broomball from December thru March. And, instead of daydreaming about the snow removal section at Menard's, I planned out broom-stealing raids in unsuspecting neighborhoods where naive homeowners left their brooms out on their front steps all night. I had a friend who prowled the boiler rooms of apartment buildings knowing full well that the caretaker in each building would have a broom down there. Now you can't even get into those same apartment buildings without a passcode or actually knowing someone who lives there.
Jamaica and DC both sound nice. Send me a postcard if you get to either one.
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