The Rambling One About the Cold

Winter is here. It arrived sometime between 3 and 3:30 this afternoon.

Before 3, and for the past few days, the weather has been fabulous. Hovering between 65 and 72, and mild even in the evenings, it was perfect weather for taking the dog for a walk, talking to neighbors in the yard, and sleeping with the windows open. When I left work at 3 today, my car said it was 67 degrees out.

After 3 it all came to an end.

It was raining by 3:15; the sky had darkened, rain was falling, and within 30 minutes it was a nippy 53 degrees with a brutal, biting wind.

Tomorrow the high is supposed to be 45 and if the scuttlebutt is to be believed, we could expect some mixed snow/rain this weekend.

I can feel my mood plummeting with the mercury. I don't believe it's about the lack of daylight, as in the SAD disorder, it's definitely about the cold. The cold makes me even less social than I am in the first place. It makes me want to whip up some hot cocoa, wrap myself in fleece and flannel, light a cinnamon candle and hibernate with a book until the tulips appear in the spring.

In winter, I frequently have a sore back. It's from shivering. Stopping the shivering has become a life-long battle for me. Turtlenecks, Uggs, my long hair, electric blankets are all weapons in my war, but it's never enough to prevail. Every morning I have to drag myself back out of my cozy bed and start another frigid day. I despise it. For a time, the magic of Christmas holds my loathing at bay, but in a blink it's over and I'm faced with January, February, and March to bide my time until the days start getting longer, the buds start appearing on the trees, and slowly, the warm days begin to outnumber the cold.

And I remember that I am thankful I don't live in Alaska.