Surviving our first winter

just when i thought i must be going crazy from cabin fever, the weather warmed up this week and we went crazy with joy! mind you, the locals are warning me not to get too ecstatic--another cold front is most definitely coming through, but it was glorious for 3 days to run outside without bundling up.

when we first moved to madison, WI last august, i was a little nervous about facing the winter, having gotten spoiled in north carolina for the past five years, but part of me felt i'd be ok. afterall, i had lived in chicago and dealt with severe winters before. hah! it's one thing to bundle myself up and get myself through the cold to get wherever i need to go. it's quite another matter with a 3 year old and a 2 month old tagging along. Skye, my soon-to-be-4-year-old, always the optimist, believes she can absolutely survive outside in just a fleece jacket--no gloves, no hat, no snowpants, and definitely no snowboots. after many precious minutes battling Skye's negotiations, Skye is bundled up, Claire is bundled up, and i am bundled up. as we trudge our way down the steps, Skye falls flat on her back, sinking into several inches of snow. she gives a muffled scream for help, unable to execute one of those flip moves like a snowboarder when flat on the back. she might as well be in a body cast. and i'm trying to hurry Claire into the car because she has stopped breathing. all the while, i'm wondering, why??

so, my choices this winter were either the above scenario or cabin fever. cabin fever usually won out, although we did make the occasional brave attempts to go play somewhere indoors.

when the temperature rose into the 50's this week, the whole city seemed to be celebrating. people were out in shorts and flip flops (uh, isn't it still a little too nippy for that?), sitting out on the porches drinking beer and we were gagaing over the one lone crocus that decided to shoot up in our front yard. Skye pulled on her summer dress and rain boots and jumped in the massive puddles and mud. even Claire, for the first time, looked up at a chirping bird instead of burying her face into my jacket. i was just grateful it took us 5 minutes to get out of the house instead of 20.

Phil and i have often wondered why anyone in their right minds would choose to live in such a cold place. perhaps this exhilaration, this giddiness, to celebrate the coming of spring isn't such a bad thing.