I had this post planned out for weeks.
It was going to be a “Thank goodness we survived the worst two months of the year, bring on spring!” post.
I mentally crafted the words knowing there was a fine chance that the first week of March would feel more like January than April. The last two winters have been terrible, with cold weather lasting deep into spring and major snowstorms hitting us after the official change of seasons.
But, still, it was worth a shot. And the turning of the calendar to the third month of the year is a clear sign that even if winter is hanging on, its days are numbered.
So, naturally, we got over 8” of snow yesterday, it was in the low teens when I took the girls to school today, there is ice and snow in the forecast for the next 36 hours, and we are likely to set new records with lows below zero from Wednesday to Friday.
We get it, Mother Nature. You win. Please let spring come soon.
Last winter was worse; until yesterday we had not had a snow storm drop more than 4” on us this year and we were running over 50 inches behind last year’s snow totals. And we’ve had a couple brief warm-ups this year.
But February was a complete bitch. The third week of the month the average high was at least 15 degrees below normal. A couple days it was 30 degrees below normal. Where last winter was relentless and brutal, this one has been soul-crushing as it has slowly built up its strength and gotten worse as we get closer to the equinox.
As I drove back from school this morning I took in the gorgeous views of trees covered in snow as the sun rose over the eastern horizon. The entrance to our neighborhood, where the trees arc over the street from either side, was postcard picture beautiful. The snow and the cold made it hard to believe that by the end of this month, most of those trees will have buds on them, the grass will come back to life and begin turning green, and we just might not need to bundle up in three layers and let the car warm up for five minutes before heading out in the morning.
When winter sucks the life out of you, even the dreams of mornings in the 40s can keep you going.
I would not object to a quick warm up, though.