Okay, the fun is over...

I give up. I confess. I am sick of the snow and cold and the days where I wake up freezing only to head out through the snow and icy unplowed street to get into our freezing car.

One can only hope that there would be a reprieve in sight, but after checking weather.com, I see that this is not necessarily a possibility for the near future. The thirty-eight degree day coming up on the horizon is my highlight, my beacon of hope, and that is not saying much.

What do I do?

I am left to cope, and 'make lemonade' from this batch of crumpled and moldy lemons that appear to be mounting on my counter.

How do I cope? What strategies can I use to get myself out of the dreariness of gray, ice, and the general unthawing that I feel? I don't really know.

I've tried several things so far that have helped a little:

1. Wearing a robe around over my clothes helps tremendously with taking care of the cold almost all times of day. I get up, I put on the robe, before bed, I put on the robe, getting home from school, I too sometimes put on the robe. Who knew that this gift from my dad many Christmases ago would come in handy so often in this mini ice age? (by the way, Thanks again, Dad!)

2. Reading books. While this is a great option and may make one think of cozy-ing up and a perfect thing for winter time, a good book rarely lasts me for more than a day or two. I am a ravenous reader. I have read and finished two books this week, and it is only Wednesday, need I say more?

3. Pretending that it is summer outside. Though this is not the most effective, I take the opportunity to revel in any ray of sunshine and imagine what it would be to bask in it, walking around in capris and a tank top. My desk is right next to a window at school, and today the sun was pouring in. Did I shut the blinds to ease myself from the blinding light? No. I sat in it, drowning myself in the thoughts of the soon approaching June Solstice while trying to plan and grade and do the usual. I have to say, the sun is a great help when it shows up this time of year.

4. Working out in a swimming pool. It is easy to pretend that it is no longer winter when doing laps in a pool set to the warm temperature of eighty something degrees. However, in stepping outside of that pool into the shower room, and across the cold tile floor, I am immediately snapped back to reality.

Argh! Go away winter! I have had enough!