I believe in spring. Don’t mock me!
Now if you don’t understand the humor in that statement, you don’t live in cold country. For me, it’s in the Midwest. Winter lasts approximately 18 months, spring consists of 7 days, not consecutively.
Summer is when it goes from 30’s and 40’s to suddenly humid and 80 – 100 degrees for about 2-3 months, often in the same day. There have been many days/weeks where we have the heat on at night since it will get to near freezing, then the air conditioning because it’s going for 90 degrees by 3 o’clock, and headed back to freezing as soon as the sun goes down. In a good year, we will get 2 to 4 weeks of fall interspersed with freezing and boiling temperatures. Otherwise, it just goes straight back to winter.
Spring is that striptease of temperatures and sunshine in March, April and/or May, when you keep thinking you can put away your parka and knee high snow boots. But really you just layer all of your clothes so you don’t freeze to death going to work, can enjoy the warm sunshine as you head out to your car after work, and are digging out your muffler and gloves again before you get home. That’s why we wear strappy sandals with a parka. Or we would never get to wear sandals.
Now there are three types of people and their thoughts on this so far: 1. The ones saying “So?”with a confused look on their face, which immediately lets you know that they live in the north. 2.Those thinking to themselves, “What the heck is wrong with you? Why would you live there?” which immediately lets us know you have never lived in the northern states. or 3. Those who are laughing. Because they escaped. And they are laughing at me, knowing that many will never figure out that there is another option for weather.
So over the last several weeks we have experienced a 70ish sunny day about once a week, getting our hopes up that winter might end. And then of course, there’s the 14.5 inches of heavy wet snow we had last week. To remind us that winter doesn’t really end till May or more likely June.
I believe the hardiness of personal character required to live here changes how we look at going through difficult times. I wonder if that “I had to walk 5 miles to school in the snow. Uphill both ways.” attitude keeps us from realizing that we don’t have to stay in abusive situations. Sort of that “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” motto that makes you think things. Things like “is this really worse than a lifetime of blizzards in Iowa?” Hmmmmmm.
Maybe that’s why I waited twenty-some years to realize my marriage wasn’t going to get better, that those deep sighs and difficulty breathing were really signs of deep depression and despair over my life and marriage.
I didn’t realize before that it was okay NOT to have to fight every day through the weather. Or that it was okay to choose to do the thing that would make your life easier. I didn’t realize that you didn’t have to live worrying every day about whether you would be able to survive the drive and get through the weather to accomplish what you needed to. I didn’t realize it was okay to choose not to live in a situation where you were worrying all the time. I didn’t realize it was okay sometimes to quit and walk away. Especially from a marriage, that was almost always a winter blizzard. But then that darn crocus would bloom. In the snow. Making me believe it would get better.
Maybe that’s why once I was no longer in that relationship or living in a place that had temperatures that required 12 layers of clothing ten months of the year, I really felt free. Light and free! Ecstatic. No worries. (Except for when I was worrying about whether I would ever finish school and make a living. But that’s another story. Hey, change is slow. Don’t mock me.)
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