never ready

It always comes, and yet I'm never ready for it...You'd think that after 25 years of midwest winters, I would have built up some sort of tolerance for the cold, but it just isn't so. Anyone who has ever had to withstand a midwest winter knows that it is basically a 4-6 month slap in the face, and includes blizzards, bitter cold, whipping wind, and a more often than not gray sky. We are lucky to see the sun once a week, and it only attempts to take the edge off of the bitter cold. It is the kind of bitter cold that actually makes your body ache with pain, especially if any part of it is exposed for more than about 3 seconds. I try to gear myself up for it every year, but it never seems to make any difference. Once mid November rolls around, I just begin to accept the fact that I will be cold for the next several months. Getting out of bed in the morning is like pulling teeth because it's so warm in my bed and sooooo cold in the house. Let me tell ya, bears have the right idea hibernating through the winter...I would settle for just being allowed to work from home for the winter...my morning walks to the bus stop are tragically cold, and I get tempted some mornings as soon as I set foot out the door to just turn around and go right back in. I definitely go into hibernation mode when the cold sets in...once I'm home for the evening I do not want to leave again. I want to wrap myself in blankets and snuggle on the couch. I love nights when we don't have anything going on and we can just curl up with a good book, or watch a movie and drink hot cocoa...that's what winter should be...