Wednesday, February 25, 2009

On Books, The Beatles and Breakdowns

If you came here today looking for my usual brand of saccharine sentiment, positive postulation and life-affirming lessons, then you had better turn away now. I mean it!  You won't find any of that here.  Perhaps those of you living in "normal" habitats don't understand what it is like up here in the frozen tundra of the north.  The high today is 32 degrees, and we are grateful for it I tell ya...grateful! A very dear friend called me about this time last year and asked if I was ready to have my breakdown yet.  My what?  Your annual pre-birthday "patience is wearing thin, going stir crazy, tired of being cooped up, why is there still snow, where are my flip-flops, where is the sun, where are the tulips, get me out now" breakdown.  Oooh, you mean THAT breakdown. Isn't it funny how those near to us know us better sometimes than we know ourselves. Apparently this is normal behavior for me right before my birthday every year. *Warning* Birthday next week.  I really do love the winter, but a person can only take so much. So in order to stave off the breakdown until the snow melts in April or May, I offer some blues bustin' helpful hints...
1. Break into that stack of books you have been meaning to get to.  Park yourself in a south-facing window and soak up that vitamin D!
2. Spend way more time than you should blog-hopping and/or face-booking, maybe you will get a glimpse of the sunshine in someone else's life.
3. Keep plenty of chocolate on hand (this is also helpful for the rainy spring, hot summer and windy autumn seasons)
4. Give up something for Lent, maybe it will take your mind off the cold. (Ok, so I am not Catholic, and Mormons pretty much give up everything from the get-go anyway, so...) (Kidding people, sheesh!)
5. Put on something comfy, climb into bed and watch the sappiest movie you have on hand (mine was "The Christmas Card") Studies have shown this behavior to be highly addictive, use sparingly only as needed for severe cases
6. Do something creative--paint, sew, scrapbook, draw, write poetry, sing, play, dance!
7. Wear clothes that don't match and are borderline silly (I am so sick of my winter clothes that this is the only joy I have found in wearing them)
8. Have a sleep-over (I actually did this last year, and it was more fun than 5 grown women should probably have)
Whew! Just writing about it makes me feel better. Now, I cannot guarantee no breakdown, but maybe just a mini one.  SouleMama gave a beautiful winter manifesto recently that actually made me almost (almost) love and appreciate this final wrap up of one more frosty, snowy, beautiful, winter season. I know at some point I will miss the snuggly warm bed, heavy with extra blankets and sitting by the fire, skiing, snowmen building, hot cocoa drinking and still, silent snowstorms.  But today I sit staring out the window at Mr. Sun just peeking from behind a cloud and think, "You can do it big guy...You can do it!"
Quote of the Day: "Here comes the sun, and I say, it's all right."
George Harrison--musician

8 comments:

  1. I too am feeling like I am just about to go crazy. I am desparately wanting to go for a long bike ride, but I'm afraid that I might freeze to death. I hope that you have a great birthday next week. Eat lots of cake, and just relax the whole day!!!! You deserve it!!

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  2. I feel the same way about winter. I love winter, but I am so ready for it to be over at this point. By the way, I looked at Soule Mama's blog, and I love it!

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  3. I hear you. We had some brief sun today and we got out and walked.

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  4. Happy Birthday next week. What day is your birthday? My dad's is the fourth. And I think you should smile, laugh and eat chocolate. :-) Sounds like a great plan to me.

    And sorry about the weather. Here in Arizona it is in the 80's--which isn't really a good thing as it usually just keeps getting hotter. We really haven't had much of a winter here. Some cold weather would be nice.

    Also since you appear to be a fan of alliteration . . here is a saying for you I heard in church. "Work will win, when wishy washy wishing won't." Cute. :-)

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  5. oh no... i definitely don't envy the cold weather that you have. brrrr!!! hopefully you are finding plenty to distract you : )

    & happy early birthday!!! mine's the week after next, so happy birthday MONTH to us!!

    ps - thanks for the sweet, sweet card. your words of encouragement completely made my day!!

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  6. I don't think you will have anyone arguing against Spring starting. I too am excited for warmer weather and more sunshine. I enjoyed your list of suggestions.

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  7. Okay, I found your current blog page! I just needed to go to the February section! Wow, and I am in graduate school? Looks like spring is coming in the form of rain today! I love it. Have a great rest of the week. Nice chatting with you at ballet. :)

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  8. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!! I hope you have a great day. I don't know if you will find this today but I hope so.

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