BRRR....It's COLD Here!!
I like to think I am a pretty resilient person, but this winter, here in MN, is trying to debunk that belief. We started out very cold, very fast with these cruel and very believable warm ups that got me thinking, once again, this isn't so bad....only to wake up the next morning...BAM!...knocked square in the kisser with negative flipping cold weather.
It is a fickle thing my adoration of winter. I wasn't raised in it, shouldn't really "get" it, I love the thought of clean, white snow, watching my kids play in it and come in with pink cheeks and sweaty heads while I am ready with hot cocoa and marshmallows. Well, that is a pretty picture for sure. That was then....
And this is now.....
Do you see the difference? It's pretty subtle (*laughing*) Well, I do! Every morning when I wake up and see those little men I have created, I realize the difference 10 winters can make. That is right, we are celebrating our 10th winter as 'Sotan's. The time has flown, as you all know it does, and as much as I HATE to blame my change of wintery-heart on age, the truth is I am starting to have mad respect for those "Snow Birds" we previous Arizonans struggled with every November through April. Sure you get beautiful pictures like this
But I will be totally honest, this picture was taken behind a glass window! I was cozy inside beside a fire at a friend's gorgeous cabin outside of Remer, MN on New Years weekend because the outside temp was -25F....F is right, as in FORGET that!! Oh yeah and for my AZ family, yes, that would be a negative before that number. There is this fun thing that usually goes along with that number too, it's called "Wind Chill", let me explain....the wind only helps compliment that number by blowing it around really fast, so that it actually feels like -40F....Again, let me help my AZ folks; imagine a 115F day when the wind is blowing at a good clip and it feels like you just magically stepped into the tube of a hairdryer, blowing on high and oh yeah, you have a heat index warning....well this, in my opinion, is WORSE...only because it is the exact opposite, it is your nose hairs freezing inside your nose, so your nose sticks together and you can't breathe, you can actually die in 10 minutes if you didn't have the sense to wear the right clothes (why you stepped outside in the first place is beyond me), there is this disturbing squeak when you step on the ground (like rubbing Styrofoam together) and your muscles, beyond your control, seize up with chills that convulse your whole body....but I digress....
I now understand the deranged, twitchy look of January/February cabin fever eyes in those around me. The demand of the hottest beach you can find in March. Possibly even the obnoxious amount of alcohol consumption I see around me in these long days of winter; because how else can you cope when you are locked inside to protect your life? (sigh...that is a bit dramatic...but...).
Don't worry for us, or me, because my hot blooded, Italian men seem to love this stuff. I will attempt to once again make the most of it, look at it with optimistic eyes, celebrate the fun things we do to muddle through this season that brings everyone to a desire for renewal, come Spring. I will snowmobile for a friends birthday, I will kick those beautiful boys of mine out to enjoy the 8 inches of the fluffy white stuff we got yesterday and I will be ready with that hot cocoa and marshmallows....mine just might have some amaretto in it!
Happy 2018 and AZ fam enjoy this time of year because your heat index days are coming!
XOXO
