A-run-run-run-run-Re-Runaway

Good morning class.  I am participating today in Mrs. Matlock's AlphabeThursday.  I am afraid however that Teacher will accuse me of cheating as today will not actually be a new post.  You see, this is a RE-RUN.  You remember those, right? From back in the golden age of television when there were only 3 stations.  The networks would show old episodes of their shows during the summer, you know, when people are outside and not watching TV 24/7... But you can think of this as an "Encore Presentation!"  The general public obviously feels less cheated when we use even overtly transparent euphemisms. "Previously owned" is another personal favorite.  Maybe you could think of it as a "Best of" or "Top 10". Maybe you don't even read this and move on to someone who actually has something to SAY!  I am just giving you a choice is all. 

This post originally aired February 2009, but it is nearly just as true today...

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 18 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. (And yes, I am having a birthday soon even though I wrote this is 2009 and it is now 2011.)

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, but Mormons pretty much give up everything from the get-go anyway, so...) 

5. Put on something comfy, climb into bed and watch the sappiest movie you have on hand *Caution* 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.

8. Have a sleep-over (I actually did this one year, and it was more fun than 5 grown women should probably have.)

9. Sit and pout and complain about the cold.  This does not solve anything, but if you want you can still try.  I see plenty of people doing it.

10. Take up a new winter activity. Ice Fishing, Cross Country Skiing or that one at the olympics with the heavy flat ball thingy and the brooms. You know, on the ice and they look really silly? What the fetch is up with that game anyway!?

Whew! Just writing about it makes me feel better. Now, I cannot guarantee no breakdown, but maybe just a mini one.  There are beautiful silent mornings when the snow is gently falling that I almost (almost) love and appreciate the 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