My Favorite Day of Winter

My favorite day of winter is just a week away—Groundhog Day!  I thought about titling this post—I Hate Winter—but I decided to use a more positive sounding title.  However, both titles may make more sense when you understand that I hate cold weather.  January is my least favorite month of the year so what better way to celebrate the end of January than to look forward to the 2^nd of February.  And it is ever my hope each year that Punxsutawney Phil will accurately predict the end of winter and that spring will be just around the corner.

For someone like me who loves to drive small, sporty convertibles on nice warm days, winter means missing out on all that fun.  But beyond just the fun, I don’t like to feel cold.  My hands seem to suffer the worst as they get dried out and cracked due to the cold and the dry indoor heat.  I always keep a pair of gloves within easy reach during the winter and I have been known to wear them at work while I type away on my computer.

My wife on the other hand loves the cold, snow, and wintertime.  And with just the slightest chance of snow predicted, she will run through the house singing “Winter Holiday”.  I am not such a scrooge that I hate snow, I think it can be very beautiful and I have captured some pretty snow scenes in our neighborhood on the rare day that we actually get snow.

And even in our own backyard.

And I have been known to at least get out in the snow and play.

But I always look forward to coming indoors where it is warm.

While the weather in Memphis has been just cold so far this year, I did get a chance this week to experience some of winter’s finest on what was supposed to be a one-day business trip to NJ. Tuesday morning, I awoke in my hotel room to snow falling and by the time I drove to my business meeting, it had already accumulated several inches on the road.  As snow continued to fall during my meeting, I received first one airline text that my return flight home that day had been canceled and then another text later that my rebooked flight the following morning had also been canceled.  After my meeting ended, I drove back to the airport in 6 to 8 inches of snow, a trip that took three times longer than normal—but at least I made it back without becoming one of the numerous weather related accidents that occurred that day.

Due the thousands of flight cancellations, my return home was delayed until Thursday morning.  So I ended up having an extra two days in NJ.  If only my wife had been with me on this trip, she would have loved to play in the 10 inches of snow we had at the hotel.

So now that I have almost completely survived another January, I will get up early next Sunday morning to check out Phil’s prediction.  And whether or not he predicts that we are in for six more weeks of winter or that spring is just around the corner, my hope is whether Phil is right or wrong, winter will be over soon and I can bask in the warmth of the sun and drive with the top down soon.