It is hard to believe that we evolved to live in a climate with multiple seasons. It is such an adjustment to get used to big changes in the weather. Every year, the cold comes on like a revelation. A revelation that I will not be comfortable again for six months.
In the beginning it's kind of nice. A little nip in the air. A nice change from sweating to death. No more chafing from heat. No more mosquitoes! (Lack of mosquitoes may be the one truly good thing about winter.) The days grow shorter, and the leaves change. Autumnal color changes are one of the most beautiful things on the planet. It's free! And it's going on all around you. You don't even have to go out of your way to be struck by massive, sweet, visual glory. It's a feast for the eyes.
At first, it's enjoyable to dig out the sweaters and turtlenecks, the long pants and the wool socks. It feels like dress-up. "Oh, there's that hat I love!" Plus you can change your look with colored scarves, different styles of jackets, maybe some snazzy boots. But it gets to be a little bit of a hassle, because when you go back indoors you have to take all the extra layers off and then what do you do with them? Do you put them over the back of your chair? Do you carry your coat over your arm? Do you find a hook or an out of the way table and hope that no miscreant steals your warm layers?
Still, it's not so bad. You get used to it. There are coats piled and hung everywhere, and you have to remember where you left your warm boots, and why are there six left gloves but only four righties? There's also the anticipation of the holidays. Halloween! Especially if you're immature like me. Not just the costumes, either. There's chocolate! And after that there's Veteran's Day, which isn't exactly a jolly holiday but in between thanking service members we're allowed to take time off and do other things we want to do, like (oh, say) go backpacking. Just when you've recovered from that, we get to have Thanksgiving with friends and neighbors and loved ones and some poor sad animal which got slaughtered so we could sit around and become more obese. (... might have gotten off on a tangent there.)
There's even more of a nip in the air, and now it's more of a bite. Less love nibble, more bitch slap. But wait! Christmas is coming! Buying presents is so fun, and the cold weather reminds me that it's time to think of buying presents. And lights! And trees, and holiday music, and the smell of cut pine trees which got slaughtered so we could sit around and become more.. never mind.
Even though it's not Thanksgiving yet, I still kept an eye out for Christmas lights on my drive home tonight. I *LOVE* Christmas lights. Love 'em.
There weren't any, though.
Okay, so we've gotten through most of the holidays. Oh, New Year's! That one's good too. Staying up late and drinking. So basically reliving college? Whatever, it's good fun. But the day after that.. that's it. You're done. All the fun is over, but winter is still here. Still stealing your lunch money and shoving you in a locker. Winter is running your life for the foreseeable future. Dealing with all the extra warm layers is a literal burden. And those warm layers are getting wet and cold sometimes, and that is sheer misery. Your feet get damp (because all your sweat glands migrated there after Halloween) and then your feet are cold the whole rest of the day. Or you carry a spare pair of socks everywhere with you, and you look like a hobo with socks sticking out of your pockets. But at least your feet are warm when you change your socks after lunch. I bet your coworkers appreciate the view of your feet while you're swapping the woolies.
The first snow is cool. Everything is white and pretty and new! Even the first shoveling is a little fun. It's like making sculpture on a grand scale. It's not even hard! Until you've been doing it for about an hour, and then you remember that you're old now, and your back kind of.. hates you, and wants you to die. You retreat into the house to get warm, but bow to necessity and stick a freaking icepack on your lower back while simultaneously trying to warm the rest of yourself back up with a blanket or a warm sweater.
It goes on and on like that. With every snowfall you get a little more bitter. Will it never end, you think? Is this the longest winter that has ever been? (No. Man up, wuss.) You can't remember the last time you walked outside without your shoulders tightening involuntarily against the cold. You can't remember stepping out of the shower and not getting goosebumps. You stop being so careful coming into the house - snow is going to get everywhere anyway. Maybe you just give the hell up on trying to exercise, and you settle in on the sofa with a beer. (This sounds good, doesn't it?) And then your lovehandles breathe a happy sigh and settle a little too, anticipating imminent company.
I tell you what, though. If it weren't for the winter, spring would not make me nearly so happy. Sometimes you have to suffer to really enjoy a reward. The first day of the new year in which you can walk outside in your shirtsleeves? That is a glorious day.
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