Walking Through a Winter Clusterfuck
It snowed today. I think it snowed last week too but I was smart enough to miss it. I was dipping my toes in the sands of the Gulf Coast wishing I could trade my chilly 'finter' for the warm humid breeze of Florida.
I don't entirely hate winter. I enjoy snowy holidays, tucked inside watching the flakes from the window while I sit near the fire. I love "blizzard parties," celebrated with our neighbors. Even a few hours of the Nemo storm was charming.
But then it sucked. It was so fucking cold. We had no power. No heat. No way to make heat. No bathrooms. Right there. No bathrooms. Uncivilized.
Give me summer all year long. Hot and sweaty. Long days, endless sunlight, tall shadows. The sounds of crickets and frogs. And cicadas. Even the dreaded fireworks season that runs from Flag Day to Labor Day in Bristol. Concerts in the park. All Star baseball. Beach days. The car show at Sip and Dip. The carnival. Summer camps. Family vacations. Mini golf. Poolside yoga.
I could write pages and pages of what I love about summer. I could write less than a paragraph about what I like about winter. And most of it is the joy it brings to the people I love.
I was born on Labor Day. My mom spent the summer before I was born at the Jersey shore. Her favorite meal was steak, Jersey corn and tomatoes. That is my favorite meal and my favorite season and my favorite place to be.
As I lie on a heating pad, wrapped in my bathrobe, under the covers, I will start the countdown to summer. Don't tell me how many days to Christmas. Tell me how many days until Memorial Day. That's my holiday spirit!