Surviving Winter

For some reason today I was thinking about how happily I anticipated winter's arrival just two months ago. The first snowy flakes, the possibility of a snow day off from work, the merry-making of the holiday lights in neighbor's windows. It all just has this air of imminent good things. This coziness of winter. When I was a kid the anticipation was clearly of Santa Claus, but I think it wasn't the presents that thrilled me as much as the magical idea of Santa coming in the middle of the night secretly and leaving surprises. It seems to me now that even though Santa did come every year when i was a kid, I was perpetually never sure if he would, or how he possibly could. I was the ultimate believer as a child.

Now as an adult, I've lost the actual coming of Santa, but I haven't lost that sense of anticipation or expectation of December being magical. My parents did a good job I think if its persisted this long *laugh* But by January and February, that sparkle of the winter season is so over. Snow is dirty, its freezing cold and there are no holidays to warm the spirit. Supposedly this is the most depressing time of the year. Now all there is to do is to wait for spring. I think we spent a lot of time wishing ourselves into the future, particularly in late winter. Perhaps that's how I came to be 37 years old this soon ;-)