Winter Blues

I realized the other day that I have contracted a very un-nerving condition. Not a disease, per se, but rather something for which I will eventually find a cure. It is known to many as... drumroll please... The Winter Blues!

I hate winter. I hate the snow. I hate the cold. I hate the coats, scarves, gloves, boots, etc. I hate it all! The wintry roads, full of car-packed ice and snow that no one in Omaha knows how to drive on. The many people that fail to get out and shovel their walks, so that on a rare-January-50 degree day, one might get out of the house and walk freely on pavement. Okay, I don't "hate" those people, but I was rather frustrated with their laziness.

In the last two months, I've had many people tell me how beautiful the snow is. This mostly is mentioned after one of my many bouts of complaining about the snow that is so rudely covering the windows of my car. I do not disagree with that fact, people. In fact, it can be quite pretty. When it's early morning, no one is out and about yet, and you can almost hear the snowflakes hitting the ones that fell before them. Yes, it is lovely. Peaceful. Serene. But the truth of the matter is, IT'S SNOW! And if you live in the real world as I do, you HAVE to go out in it! It's going to turn a dirty brown! It's going to make your tires feel as though they are made of MUSH! And someday, you may just find yourself spinning towards another moving vehicle or sliding towards another stopped vehicle or slipping on your bum because no one can plow a parking lot!
(I would like to clarify that none of the above has actually happened to me as of yet, but that's because I am a VERY cautious driver and I walk like my very next step may be the last one!)

And so I have come to realize that I have that horrible unwanted condition known as the winter blues. Every day I reveal my true feelings of the season to whomever may be unfortunate enough to be within earshot. And every day I reveal my longing for warmer weather.

I cannot wait to leave my house in the morning without warming up the car. To walk out and hear the birds chirping, no coat, no gloves, no scarf. To drive to work with the windows slightly down, singing along to the music of my choice. Looking out the windows that are behind my desk, watching the people walking by in shorts, tank tops, miniskirts, and flipflops, knowing that in just a few hours I will be enjoying that summer breeze as well. To get in my car at the end of the day, roll the windows down, open the sunroof, and turn up the music for all to hear. That to me is the best way to relax, even in a traffic jam. Because I know when I get home, I can work in my gardens, go for a walk, enjoy an icecream at DairyQueen, and go to bed knowing that in the morning I get to enjoy another sunny day.

Those, my friends, are the thoughts of someone with my condition.