A weather post? Well, kinda. It’s March 25th and the weather mongos are reporting it’s twenty-six degrees outside. TWENTY-SIX. Seeing that the official ‘first day of Spring’ was Monday, March 21st (and also my son’s fifth birthday), I am finding this all completely unfair. The first day of spring also brought us some snow… snow that stuck. We got a reprieve on Tuesday and then Wednesday (when I had my son’s birthday party), we had… more snow.
While I’m not one to hugely complain about weather in lieu of something more substantial to say, I’ve got a few random thoughts and observances about this, one of the snowiest, coldest winters here in the Northeast.
- Snow weighs a LOT. Especially when you’ve got about 500lbs of it on your roof. When this happens, things like leaks and collapses happen. I was lucky not to have either occur, but my neighbor and her screened in porch were not so lucky.
- I should have invested in a roof rake. A WHAT? Some telescoping pole with an larger-than-squeegie type thing attached which lets you take snow off the roof. They were sold out… everywhere around here this winter. Along with salt and shovels. It was that bad.
- Preschools which are not publicly funded (as is the case with every preschool in my town), cancel school with glee and at will in the name of ‘safety.’ If it’s a dusting, school is off. Some schools give days back. Public school makes up days. In January, 7 of 14 of the days my kid goes to school were cancelled. We got a makeup. One.
- Crafts and activities can be forced upon young kids who are otherwise not crafty. Thank god for washable markers. I also found out my son could draw a giraffe, an elephant and a meerkat. I’ve since not see him drawn them, but I swear it happened.
- No matter who you are, or how old, layers are annoying. They bunch under your coat and get supremely annoying when you sit in the car. I tried to give this one to my son as he’d whine and cry when we got in the car this winter, but really…with cabin fever, Mommy had not much patience for temper tantrums.
- People from your frigid locale who move or vacation to warm climates and brag about it on Facebook are extremely annoying. No matter how much you love them.
- If you should be so lucky to get to a warm climate yourself for a few days, nothing will yank the tan off you like a half-hour in an over chlorinated pool. Honestly, I could have slathered my body in petroleum jelly and it would not have stopped the peeling.
- Snowboots. I’ve embraced a pair with fleece lining. They’re as fashionable as I could find. They’re black.
And with that, off I go to visit family…somewhere colder. Boston. It’s about a 2 1/2 – 3 hour drive, sitting with bunched coats and hearing a lot of ‘are we there yet.’ Spring… please… be here when I get back.
Posted by ramblingsfromtheleft on March 27, 2011 at 6:11 pm
I always love your posts
Imagine, just the other day I was missing NYC … is that crazy or what? I might miss autumn and walking through the parks or driving up state. I certainly miss spring (if it ever comes) and the new blooms and the lighter, warmer breezes. Noting, not even pulling my fingernails out with a plyer could induce me to spend an entire winter in NY. Those alternate side of the street snow clearance (where you shovel for two hours and then someone pulls into your space) … snow days and wind chill factors.
I take 24 hour Claritin D since my major problems are the histamines that love wet, hot weather and mold spores.
Sorry baby, it’s nice and warm outside where I am
Posted by themommyvan on April 4, 2011 at 7:34 am
i am way over the winter myself. as great, fun and heartwarming as it is to play with the kiddos in the snow, then come inside and fix them hot cocoa, after the third time in a month.. i’m over it.