I love rainy days. Thanks to our extremely odd not-really-winter this year, we’ve been having plenty lately–it’s actually raining right now! Of course it’s not really spring because it’s not like the grass/trees/plants are growing in February, but it’s close enough for me.
Quite a while ago, I wrote a post called Call Me Weird, but I Hate Hot Weather. It’s actually one of the top posts ever on the blog, which is random 😛 but I have to say, I totally renounce my love of winter (Minnesota winter anyway) now.
It’s all fun and games, and you can imagine you’re roughing it out in the beautiful snowy wilderness… until you have kids. Then it’s inconvenient at best.
- I can’t walk the toddlers to school when it’s icy.
- It’s nerve-wracking enough to drive a minivan filled with three chattering kiddos–and then add slick roads into the equation?! Nooo thank you.
- It takes forever to put on everyone’s gear to go outside. 3x snowpants, winter boots, coats, hats, gloves, plus extras like neck gaters/base layers for skiing–that’s a lot of clothing! Oh, and then I need to dress myself too.
- It’s literally too dangerously cold to go outside here often in January/February. The day I brought A home from his NICU stay three years ago, the low was -21F! My kids climb the walls and fight like crazy when they can’t go outside, too.
- As I get older, I realize how much happier I am when I get some sun on my face, breathe fresh air, smell the earth and get some exercise every day. It gives me energy, reduces anxiety, and helps keep life in perspective.
Especially now that we are more involved in our local community (via preschool, next year elementary school, the library, the community center etc.), I feel like winter has completely lost its romantic edge for me, and now it’s just a pain.
At the same time… it’s the price we pay for living in a state with a low cost-of-living and high quality of life. Plus, my mom lives 5 minutes from us and my dad lives 15 minutes away. C’est la vie!
Until the ties that hold us here change, I think we will probably continue to suffer through our usual winters. Perhaps adding in a warm vacation midwinter to lift our spirits (and vitamin D levels). And I will continue to browse Australian/New Zealand news instead of American election news, and channel my inner southern hemisphere muse in my everyday life! A little daydreaming never hurt anyone 🙂
xx Claire