March

I never really did get sick.  I had a couple of days where I sucked on a cough drop.  I think it was more like sick and tired.

March can go one of two ways in Minnesota.  There's the Early Spring Thaw Month way, where we laugh and dance and get out our shorts and sandals as soon as it reaches 50 degrees.  "It's practically summer!  What a great year!  What a great spring!" we shout.With 2-3 feet of snow still on the ground, that's not the way it's going this year.  This year it's going the Dark Night of the Soul Month way.  We close our eyes, try to get out a lighter coat, stop checking the forecast.

This is where a well-timed vacation somewhere warm comes in nicely.  If you go too early, there is still a lot of winter left.  If you go too late (or aren't for whatever reason able to go at all), there's a sort of anger that really takes hold now.  It's not spring.  It's not ever going to be spring.  WHY DO WE LIVE HERE ANYWAY?!

I am one of the lucky ones.  My winter vacation was poorly timed, but it is still on the horizon.  I have dug out my shorts . . . 30 days in advance.