I Really Hate When:

  This morning when the sun finally rose, one could see the world brilliantly bathed in sunlight. The snow glistened.  The houses across the lake were in sharp relief against the brilliant blue sky.  The world beckoned me to go out and be a part of its beauty.

I could see beyond the airport and the mountains to the right of it were clear against the sky.  Even the frozen lake in front of my place looked sharper than usual.  So after a nice quick breakfast, I decided to head out for a walk to enjoy the beauty of a spring day.

Wrong!  It was all an illusion created to lull me and jump on my bones.  There was a bitterly cold wind blowing outside that forced its way up the small open parts of my sleeves, cutting the bit of exposed skin between my gloves and the sleeves.  It found the small openings around my neck, pushing its way down my body so I felt the cold inside my coat.  Even my scarf offered little protection against the wind's forceful onslaught.

My decision to take a nice long walk outside to enjoy the day by taking the long way to work, shifted quickly to going straight there as fast as I could manage it.  By the time I got to work, I felt like a half frozen Popsicle in need of  thawing.  A nice hot cup of tea did wonders for warming my hands up and helping me thaw out.

A line from a song floated through my mind as I pushed my way through the chilly wind - "A cold wind she blows."  Its the time of year where winter refuses to release its hold to spring.  The two seasons are at war, fighting for supremacy.  Some days, the temperature is warm but we have a nasty snow storm.  Other times,  the blue sky and clear landscape beckon us out only to discover the winter is blowing its chilly fingers across the place reminding up it will be a while before it leaves.

We have another month before things will finally warm up enough to take long walks without turning into icesicles.  Another month, before the world starts melting and letting the first green to appear.  Another month, before we see the brown dead grass of the fall.

Yes I look forward to it.  My mother will be writing to tell me about the flowers beginning to bloom in her yard and I'll look out the window at the ice covered landscape wishing for the same thing.  This time of year can often be harder than the rest of the year due to our yearnings.  In the meantime, I'll pop a gardening DVD on the tele to enjoy my own early spring.