"I get a little warm in my heart when I think of winter..." Tori Amos, 'Winter'

Winter

So, I live in Ohio, and it's winter, you know. (I'm not being flippant - Curt's down in Australia, where it's almost summer, and he's quitting smoking, so he's all batty, so I need to remind him or he'll be confused.) This weekend, we had our first decent snowfall. It was enough - with the rain, freezing rain and then hours-long snowfall - to close school for today. SC and I slept in (6:15, baby!). We watched a couple of movies. We made crafts for my dad, my brothers and SC's dad's Christmas presents. We played around on the floor. He likes to push me over as I'm sitting down. I like to tickle him until he's red. Later, he made me pretend that I was a dog, and he taught me to shake hands. I was a slow learner.

At one point, I went outside to ascertain the situation. Did we have feet of snow? Was it frigid or just cold? Was it going to be an issue backing my car up? Which snow hat did I look the cutest in? I took a broom (a fashionable black and white one I got last year - it's too short for actual sweeping, so I was happy to have found a use for it) and pushed snow (6 inches, I think) off of the back step and off of my car. The wind had blown all of the snow away from my back tires, so I didn't imagine any huge drama backing out. But as I was out there, I realized that it really wasn't that cold. I mean, yes, it was cold enough to have snow on the ground. The sun wasn't out. But it was the kind of cold that you don't really need a snow hat (unless it makes you look unbearably sexy like it does me - just ask D. She's jealous of my ability to wear a hat). It was the kind of cold that you can actually enjoy. I'd take SC sledding in that kind of cold. We could build a snowman. If that was the only cold it got up here in Ohier, I wouldn't really complain.

But there's another kind of cold. You people from Ohio know. Michigan and Minnesota know, too. Upstate New York north, sure. But you Florida and California boys? Oh, hell no. You don't get it. Cold is when you walk outside and the air hurts your lungs. Cold is when you accidentally expose a tiny part of your wrist to the air and it burns like someone cut you. Cold is when you walk inside and your glasses fog up as soon as you begin to step through the door. Cold is when you run inside the house with your significant other, jump into bed, and have sex with the least amount of clothing removed to make the deed possible because you are so cold that the thought of taking your clothes off is horrifying. Real cold is chapped lips that hinder your ability to talk. Cold is when you can't catch your breath. Cold isn't fun and frolicking in the snow - it's racing as quickly as you can through the snow and ice to get back to a habitat that sustains human life.

 No, today wasn't cold. But it's coming. It'll be here in January or February. And when it comes, I'll be wishing that I was in Florida, or California, or Australia. Hell, I'd settle for Maryland, at that point. And I'll wonder why the hell I stay in Ohio, and I wonder when I'll pack up and get out of here.

But today wasn't that day. Today we got the car started up, slowly backed out of the bumpy driveway, and ran a few errands. I searched for peppermint essence and almond oil. I attempted to find fabric in a town where no fabric store exists. And tonight I check the radar and sigh contentedly. No horrid, frigid weather - not yet. 

But it's coming.