Some Nice Things about Winter

I am tired of winter!!  Tired of it, do you hear?!?  Perhaps, if I lived in a place that had mild winters it would be alright.  But no, I live in Illinois now and here, winter is winter.  Winter is snow.  Winter is cold and, as much as I would like to be, I’m just not a snow or a cold type of person.  I’m not a skier or an ice-fisherwoman.  I like to be warm.  I like a nice, warm breeze wafting across my face, soft green grass under my bare feet and watching my son’s diapers sway as they dry on the line under a bright sunshine and blue sky.

I’m quite sure I have at least a bit of what they refer to as SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder.  Basically, you get really down when you don’t see the sun often enough.  That is me.  Depressed, tired, cranky–some days more than others, depending on how much the sun shines that day.  Of course, it doesn’t help that we moved recently and here I am in a brand, new place with zero friends or family in the vicinity.  It stinks.  And my poor children (not to mention my husband) are stuck with me and my crappy attitude.

So I am looking forward to Spring and picnics and trips to the Farmer’s Market and walks and bike rides and, hopefully, another move (just from the house, not the area).  Trying to come up with a list of things I enjoy about winter is a bit difficult, but probably good for me.  Here goes:

1. Darkness at bedtime.  It is much easier to get the kids in their beds and asleep at their regular bedtime when it is dark outside at 7pm.  Then again, I don’t really mind when they stay up a bit later in summer.  There is so much more to do.

2. Not feeling guilty on days when I really DON’T want to go out anywhere that we are “wasting a beautiful day.”  On the other hand, I do still feel guilty for not being much of an outdoorsy, snow-lovin’ person.  We’ve only been sledding once and it wasn’t so great.  The hill was much to steep for my almost 3-year-old.  Apparently, there aren’t any natural hills in all of Illinois.

3. Bird-Watching.  My MIL got us a heated birdbath and some bird feeders for Christmas.  For now, they are on the front porch and we can watch them up-close and personal.  Today, DS2 came up to me while I was sitting on the couch in front of the window and pointed at it.  He was asking to be lifted up so he could watch the birdies out the window.  It seems to be his favorite thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Finding indoor things to do.  We have Music Class on Mondays and typically head over to South Side Sprouts on Thursdays.  It is located in a Christian Church and for no charge at all (you can donate), there is an hour of free play in a fenced-in area full of fun toys, storytime, a craft or activity and a snack.  It is very nice and I’m very grateful to have a place to take the kids when we are just so tired of being cooped up.

5. New Episodes of our Favorite Shows.  We have really cut down on our TV-watching, which is good.  But it is nice to see new episodes of our favorite Thursday night comedies and a few others we like.

6. Birthdays are coming up!!  I do love party planning and this year, we are having a combined party for the boys (I hope they don’t feel cheated when they are older; we will definitely have separate parties when they start to care about such things.) .  We will be having the party at Grandma’s house up in Wisconsin, so everyone there can celebrate with us.  The party is Dr. Seuss-themed.  I’m pretty excited about it and will be sure to post pics.

That’s all I can think of for now.  We are headed to Philly for a couple of weeks and by the time we return, March will be practically upon us.  March means Spring.  Warm breeze.  Cool grass.  Laundry on the line…

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