Our Turn for a Bad Storm

Right now it is raining in my city, but we are officially under a winter weather warning. Dangerous weather has been popping up all around us for months now, by way of deadly tornadoes, below zero temperatures, and piles of snow. Up until now, we have pretty much dodged the bullets, but tonight it’s “our turn.”

I was actually happy when we got over 3” of snow last week (on a day when “half an inch or less” was predicted). I happen to love snow. I like walking in it, playing in it, and especially, I like how it acts as a giant reflector, brightening up our usual winter gloominess. I am personally very tired of gloom by this point. I usually can make it to February before I get the winter blues, and well….here we are in February, so no big surprise. And right now, an ice storm, followed by several inches of snow, with treacherous roads and a likelihood of power outages does not sound fun to me. Keep the reflector, Mother Nature. I’d rather just order a sun lamp for my personal use.

February and I have never really gotten along very well, especially when the kids were little. As I grew older, and kids married and moved out, I lost my susceptibility to SAD (seasonal affective disorder). I thought I had booted it for good, but alas, these past couple of winters, with covid lockdowns, and lack of interaction with other human beings through social activities, has brought that stray creature back to my door, begging to come in. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not cowering here in my house, hiding from the world. First of all, I have my two Boyzees, cat brothers who keep me entertained and provide lots of warm, purrful and delightful snuggles. And I’ve added some bird feeders to my collection, and have attracted a BEAUTIFUL, resident red-bellied woodpecker (along with downy woodpeckers, a cardinal couple, and some black-capped chickadees). And, I’m working again as a caregiver, and I visit my local daughters as often as I can, to help them out with the grandkids, babysitting when needed, attending birthday and holiday parties with family (and, just recently, football watch parties as our Bengals have surprised us with a Super Bowl bid!), but still, I find myself with a case of the blues.

I had a “pretty good” case of covid back in November, so I was ready to get on with my life, and then omicron hit, and folks crawled back under their rocks. I just want a night out with my friends, for some duckpin bowling and a glass or two of a microbrew beer. Is that too much to ask?

And there’s one other thing – I want some sunshine,…..Ooh, and I want my electricity to stay on tonight, as the temperature begins to plummet. If I think of anything else, I’ll let you know, but for now, bowling, beer, friends, and electricity should get me through to March, with a trip to Minnesota where…..it might still be snowing, but my oldest daughter and grandkids will warm my heart! And then, everything will be just fine, until it finally gets hot and humid, and then I’ll just need a friend with a pool. 😜