THAT Season

"The hap-hapiest season of all" has departed, and now we are left with that season. If you're from the Northern (or Southern) reaches of the globe, this will make sense to you. A few reasons why I know it is that season again-

1. I can easily sit on the couch and stare blankly out the window for half of every day, without being sure what I saw or thought about.

2. When "C'mon April!" burst out of my mouth, I wasn't talking about my long-lost college roommate.
2.5. I was shocked when Eric replied, "For once I'm with ya on that."

3. The sidewalks resemble mazes, or better yet, tunnels.

4. The streets are two feet narrower than they were six months ago, thanks to the piles of snow lining the sides.

5. When Eric came home from work he assumed we hadn't gone anywhere today based on the lack of footprints in the huge drifts of snow on the sidewalk. But, we'd made several treks out... lugging three kids through those blasted drifts.

6. I instinctively sleep as late as possible. Hibernation. Wait, I do that in the summer too! :)

7. I feel a gravitational pull to the library. Must check out travel books and gardening guides.

8. I will spend hours of my day pouring over garden designs and bulb catalogs. Green!

9. As a non-TV watcher, I'm actually really, really excited for the final season of LOST. It takes place on a tropical island, after all.

10. The temperature reading in the van yesterday was 7 degrees at noon. Eva insisted on not wearing a coat, hat, or mittens. And she didn't feel cold. We're all in denial.

11. Bethany starts texting me about swapping kids to go cross country skiing. We hardly ever do, but it is an all important sign to Old Man Winter that we won't take this lying down.

12. I start to explore uncharted waters on the Internet. I'm now a big Pioneer Woman fan, folks.

13. I think about what a great time of year this would be to do some deep cleaning. But I probably won't lift a finger until spring; morale is down.

14. We are all pasty and pale looking... and not at all in the precious China doll way.

15. In contrast to #10, Hope insists on wearing every piece of outerwear available. And she still complains that her hands are cold!

16. Eva bounces between headstands and somersaults on the couch as I read to her. We really need a physical outlet these days.

17. Esther frantically gasps for air every time we step out the door. She doesn't remember that the biting cold was here yesterday too.

18. I wipe more noses than butts throughout the day. (sorry, everyone.)

19. We cannot drive up our driveway due to the freezing rain that mortared 10 inches of snow to the cement.

And my personal favorite... the most telling sign that we are in the THAT season...

20. We attend church as a family approximately 50% of any given month. The other 50%, we send the parent who has Sunday responsibilities (or has the worst cabin fever) with the contingent of children who are not exhibiting obnoxious signs of viral illness (aka: colds and influenza).

Can you relate???


PS) After posting this, I'm fully expecting a few "email interventions" in which you all tell me to fight for my life and hang on for summer. Don't worry, I will. As my mom always said, "This too shall pass."