winter

It's easy to fantasize about winter.  Every movie and television show that involves snow makes it look so pretty.  There's no shoveling, there are no snowplows roaring by your house in the middle of the night, no one has to trudge through foot high snow banks on the way to the bus stop.  Everyone looks so happy and the snow looks so pristine.  Lies!  I should start a petition for "honesty in winter in pop culture." 

The truth is, winter is a drag.  This winter, in particular, has been a drag.  In December and January, where barely a snow flake had dropped, I felt hopeful.  Perhaps it would be a repeat of winter 2012 where we got close to zero snow?  Not quite.  We caught up in a hurry, and had three snow storms for three weekend in a row, including one blizzard that was so bad the governor of Massachusetts decreed that all cars stay off the streets or face jail time.  My work actually closed early twice, and I had been told that that never ever happens.  It's just no fun digging your car out of your parking space three times in one day.  Or dodging cars while you walk to the bus because no one has bothered to shovel their walk.  Or have your work pants ruined by salt because it's easier to over-salt the roads than plow.  Or feel like you are never ever ever going to feel the sun's warmth on your face or see your front yard ever again.  Ugh.  Making matters worse is that I realized that I don't have proper foot wear for New England winters.  I have a pair of boots that are good, but too big, making them painful to walk in after ten minutes or so.  And I have the cheapest pair of boots known to man that can keep my feet warm or dry, no matter how many pair of socks I wear.  Perhaps if I had better footwear, I'd enjoy winter more?  Perhaps if it didn't snow so much, I'd enjoy winter more! 

Scenes from Blizzard 2013.  This just isn't normal.

I should confess that there were exactly two moments (each of about an hour) that I enjoyed winter this year.  The first: I got to go snowshoeing!  I really love to snowshoe, and after the blizzard (see above), my mom and I went snowshoeing by the river.  The sun was out, the snow was so fluffy; it really was very lovely. 

The my second brief moment of joy in the winter was after a brief mid-week snowfall.  The snow was wet so it stuck to the trees.  With the sun shining, it felt like snow in the movies, just for a moment.