Winter Project

Winter is all fun and games until January. Until about January 5th (yup that is today) winter is kind of fun and magical. With the Christmas and New Year activities the white on the ground is .....comforting, special. Today.....On this very day, it now becomes a burden. A heavy burden weighing you down.

Even more dreadful is the unbearable cold! And the worst part, the Minnesota winter is never ending, (at least it certainly feels that way). There is no light at the end of the tunnel until March. In March you get a couple of teaser spring like days before the clouds and snow move back in. The teaser days are painful because you know....It Aint Spring Yet!

People who live in other states often tell me, "Well move south."

Two problems with this. First and foremost, my husband's career is here. It's a good job, a job he loves and does well. Jobs are hard to come by.

Second, this is home to us. For all the winter hardship, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

Third (I know I said two, but I lied), The cold gives me something legitimate to bitch about! That is the cold hard truth too. All Minnesotans love to complain and brag about the weather. Who of us has not told friends from out of state that "This morning the temperature is -25." They ask in wonder, "You mean the windchill?" We answer proudly with a hint of insanity to our voice, "No the temperature is -25 the windchill is -35."

I've been asked, "What does -25 feel like?" My answer is always the same. "-10 and -25 has no difference, you just run everywhere you go. The moisture in your nose freezes instantly acting as an incredible antihistamine. You can breath although the cold air hurts as it fills your lungs.

So how do you survive a Minnesota winter? I am thinking about writing a book about this very subject. It will be toilet reading with little anecdotes, tips and when all else fails, mind numbing ideas. Sometimes in winter you have to numb your mind. I'll have to think of a clever name for this book. More clever than "How To Survive a Minnesota Winter."

I know people who are seriously afflicted with SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). I am not proposing that I can cure the extreme "winter blues". But maybe I can just lighten up a few moments of a winter day.

We will travel through how to make a Winter Plan. With a daily entry including current weather for the day. We will see how this goes. Should be an interesting project.

Join me tomorrow (Day 1) in my ride to the edge of winter insanity.
Joytobe

As always, if you are looking for good grammar, the appropriate use of punctuation or something that makes sense.....move along cause you aren't gonna find it here!