Watching the snow fall softly and collect on the ground brings a feeling of peace. A feeling I'd associate with the holidays. There is a cozy feeling that comes with a cup of hot chocolate by a warm fire on a cold December night.
I enjoy the cold and snowy days over the holiday season, from December 20 to January 1. Then it just grows old.
In conversation with a friend last week, she said her five-year-old daughter woke up New Year's Day expecting the season to have changed from winter to spring... overnight. I love the way she thinks.
Winter is like an enclosed space. Snow piled up on the sides of the roads and blanketing everything causes a claustrophobic feeling that only goes away when the snow does. The sort of feeling I had after living in the mountains for a period then stepping off the plane in the prairies to visit family. Like a weight being lifted so I could finally breathe once again.
Winter is bland. This is a season when things dry, die or hide. I would choose white to be the colour of winter, if it wasn't so dirty. There is no colour to winter. It's grey. The multicoloured seasons from spring to fall have died and animals have taken to their seasonal slumber.
Winter keeps me indoors. I like to be outside in my yard, planting flowers, mowing the lawn or just sitting enjoying the sun and colours. Winter doesn't allow this, unless it's to shovel my driveway and deck.
Winter wreaks havoc on my health. Two words: flu season. People tend to stay indoors in the winter and with such close contact, the chances of spreading germs increase. So remember to wash your hands and cover your mouth when you cough and sneeze.
Winter interferes with my desire to wear less clothing. I enjoy slipping on a pair of sandals and heading out. Such is not the case in winter. I don't like socks and my feelings toward pants are even less. The less clothing I wear, the more free I feel. Winter has us layered to marshmallow man status. It's hard to move around wearing every article of clothing I own. After my 10 minute coat, boots, mitts check, I find I have to psych myself up to head out the door. It takes a good five minutes of me whining and looking out the window uttering profanities to myself before I get the courage enough to open the door.
Winter is just plain inconvenient. I don't like scraping vehicle windows, but I'm an impatient person, so I do. Only in the winter do you really have to plan ahead to make a quick trip to the store.
The worst thing for me about winter is it feels like such a long season and this year, the very cold days of -28 far outweigh the warmer -4 days.
The best thing for me about winter is it is half over.
