Wintry Blahs

Potts Point, Maine in February 2012

I think as I get older the cold gets harder for me. Growing up in Maine, I don't remember being bothered much by the cold, even though we lived in an old farmhouse with no heat upstairs. Even in college in Boston, I had no issue scurrying between lecture halls and dorm rooms during the snowy Massachusetts winters. But then after college, when I worked in Boston, the commute to my job just about killed me. There's something about waiting forever on a chilly T platform that eats a bit of your soul. I soon purchased a North Face Artic Parka (on clearance at the outlet...best $175 I ever spent) and that coat has been my winter haven for almost 10 years. It is seriously winter gold. And this winter in DC has been so chilly combined with the fact that no one down here can handle the cold so you have people whining in your ear all the time. All I have wanted to do is curl up in a ball and not leave the house until spring. I think city life in general makes winter harder. Though cold and snowy in Maine, we always had less people with whom to contend, which helped with the bearability.

I long to have a more positive about winter. I miss skiing but there's not readily available XC/alpine skiing opportunities close to DC. You have to drive so long to get anywhere. I can't wait for the day when we live closer to more natural settings but until then, my goal is to try to do at least one outdoor activity each weekend for the rest of winter and to try to embrace winter in the city as best I can!