Skip to main content

Winter--my 4th favorite season


Each year I dread the first day of winter-- I have never been a big fan of the cold. I attribute it to being born where the weather was pretty much sunny and 74 degrees. Just like in the move LA Story, Santa Monica’s weather is sunny and breezy, the winters very mild. I seriously don’t remember having a large winter coat—a lined windbreaker was able to ward off the cold.
When we moved to Las Vegas, we experienced hot and dry climate. We would replace our windshield wipers because they were so sun damaged that they would rot off! When winter came, it arrived with no warning. Around October, one day the weather was normal and the next day—WHAM! A cold snap hit the valley, dropping at least 20 degrees! A few Januarys ago, when I was a Junior at UNLV in January, classes literally stopped when it started to snow.  Granted, it only lasted a few hours and probably the technical term is a dusting, but it was the most amount of snow we had ever seen!
Now living in Idaho makes me realize that I wasn't really prepared for what was in store for winter. My first year in Boise when it snowed I just stared at it in complete shock. Driving in it was sometimes adventurous—a couple of times I made a wrong turn to either end up in an icy skid or snowy embankment (thankfully  a good Samaritan pushed my car out!)  When I would go outside in the stone cold with the single digit degrees,  I would hum the second part of the song from A Year without a Santa Claus, trying to summons warmth with mind over matter.
My hatred of winter began to thaw one wintry day. I parked my car on a side street and all of a sudden I noticed something. I could not hear the traffic, though the main street was only a block away. The snow had muffled the noise, creating a snowy sanctuary. I took a look around—the streets had a layer of snow that sparkled and glimmered in the morning light. The tree branches were also coated in this shimmering substance. For the first time, I appreciated the beauty of winter.
I began to realize that the reason I hated winter was due to the fact that I was worrying about the one thing I couldn't control—namely the weather. Instead of fighting the elements, I needed to learn how to adapt to them—drive slower on the icy roads, dress in layers and keep my extremities warm. Little by little, I started to notice that winter wasn't so dreadful. In fact, I can safely say it is my 4th favorite season. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How's the haircut?

Isn't it amazing how a bad memory can stick to you like a wad of gum in your hair? You try to remove it, but in order to do that, you need to cut off some of your hair? At first, you’re apprehensive, but in the process, you end up with a nice hair style? At the beginning of my career, I was working at an apartment complex.  I must have upset my boss by interrupting him when he spoke to me.  I hadn't realized I was in a bad habit of talking over him. I was so anxious to prove I was on top of all the assignments, but in this process, wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise. One day, he held up an eyeglass case and said this signified when it was his time to talk. In front of the other staff, he actually held up the case while he spoke to me. I was embarrassed by his demeaning ways. I didn't put any credence in his opinion. I wrote him off as being a mean old man! For a while, I carried this memory like a wad of hardened gum in my hair. It was brittle and would have...
Post a Comment
Read more

Just a note

If you visit my website, you can now read the first chapter of my book for free! Please feel free to click on its link below: website All I ask is please leave me a comment. Even to just say "hello" so I know that some people are reading it! Thanks everyone, and I'll talk with you later!! Diane
Post a Comment
Read more

Lessons from Teachers

Many times when people talk about the teachers they have encountered in their schools, usually the lessons have been of the traditional sort.   A teacher has done or said something inspiring that has changed their lives for the better.   Actually, I have had a teacher show a negative trait that was a positive life lesson to me.   She was my seventh grade teacher.   She was a very large woman—she had to make her own clothes to fit her.   Not only was her physique large, but also her personality.   She was a very aggressive and no-nonsense woman.     “You can’t get away with anything in Miss C class!”   was the comment we heard from previous teachers and older students.   When she hosted detention, she made a sign to put on the clock that read: “Time passes—will you?”             Being in her class, she made it very clear that she was the boss.   Now, most of the time, she wa...
1 comment
Read more