Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Winter Itch


With this recent winter flashback we've been having after those few nice sunny days, it's making me realize how horrific this past winter was. Waking up to see an inch of snow on the ground this morning, having to dig out the scarf, gloves, winter coat and snow boots, and seeing the temperature at 33 degrees again brought back the memories of the past season. This weather is unfortunate, but I can deal with it because I know it really is the end, and that things are going to get warmer and sunnier and nicer now. Now. Not 3 months from now, but like, next week.

But seriously, I feel like I was at my breaking point with the bitter cold and snow and darkness that epitomized this winter. I just felt like I couldn't take one more pitch black morning of waking up, turning on the tv, and seeing the current temperature in the single digits. Then putting on long thermal underwear under my wool pants and sweater and shuffling down to the T station. Those winds felt angry in the morning. Like they were sick of being bitter too, and were wistfully remembering their days of being happy spring breezes. I felt like when I came through the alley onto the main street, those gusts of wind would slap me across the face, spin me around and then shove me down the sidewalk.

At least it was somewhat warmer once I got downtown. Maybe it was in my head, but someone told me once that it was all the big buildings that kept the temperatures a little warmer downtown. I like that... it makes me picture the buildings standing tall and wrapping their arms around the city... trying their damnedest to keep us little bundled commuters a little bit warmer on our way in to work.

We didn't even want to go out on the weekends anymore. It was just too cold. We started spending the weekend nights in, cooking dinner for each other, drinking wine, and watching movies. It wasn't bad, but after awhile I was seriously craving the ability to go do things outside. Things other than scraping off the car or sprinting from the car to the front door.

I don't know why this winter was so incredibly hard on me. It's not like I haven't been through Pittsburgh winters before (and four Erie winters, too). Maybe it's because it was my first winter commuting on public transportation. Either way, it started to feel like that hard, steel gray sky was pressing down on me every day. When daylight savings time came, and it started to get a little lighter, a little warmer, and a little less gray every day, I started to feel like I could breathe again. Now, with the last cold days passing by, I can't even describe how light my heart is knowing that those vicious frigid days are behind me. At least until November.

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