Wednesday Thoughts

I'm a winter wuss. I've lived in Michigan pretty much my whole life but I have never gotten used to winter. In the summer, I romanticize winter. I picture it as being this super cozy time where there's snow on the ground but the air outside doesn't hurt. Everyone is just sipping hot chocolate, wearing cute chunky scarves, watching movies under a blanket, and looking out the window at the falling snow.

The parts I forget about in this fantasy are too numerous to list. But I'll try. Scraping car windows, getting snow in my shoes/boots, having my nose freeze the moment I walk out the door, shoveling, slipping on ice, my car getting stuck in snow, parking in the snow, gross slushy roads, not wanting to go outside, etc...

I don't feel like I'm thriving right now. I feel like I'm in survival mode. I go to work, I go home, and once I'm home, I don't want to go out again until I have to (as in work the next morning). If I can get out of winter with any friends left who aren't mad at me for my antisocial winter ways, it will be a miracle.

I really do feel like a large part of my personality is buried under the snow and cold. 

I think this is supposed to be the part of the post where I say "so, here's what I'm going to do to solve my problem," then share some tips to help anyone else struggling with winter. But I can't. I haven't figured it out yet.

Right now I'm taking it one day at a time. I have started checking things off my long to-do list. I'm un-burying myself little by little. I go on kayak.com and look at vacation deals to tropical places. I pretend I can afford those vacations and think about warm sunshine on my skin. And outdoor smells that I miss so much. Remember the smell of cut grass? Glorious.

I need a vacation. I need some snuggles. I need a hot dog from Comerica Park. I need to wear flip flops.

Instead I stay inside and read and craft and Netflix (just made that a verb). I exercise, I bake, I exercise again to fix the damage done by baking. I survive winter. Inside. As long as I'm inside, I'm happy.

When I hear people say they like winter, I am genuinely shocked.  I get some of it - the snow is pretty. Inside is cozy. But what else? What do these people like? I need to know.

It is pretty though. I'll give you that. On my drive in to work this morning, I noticed that the trees look like they'd been dipped in white paint. They looked so pretty, and so enchanting. Moments like that help me remember that I like the seasons. Well, I like three of the seasons. (Actually only two of the seasons. Spring can't be trusted.)

I'm sorry. This Wednesday Thoughts isn't funny. It's not even particularly interesting. But these are my thoughts today and getting my thoughts is really all I can guarantee in Wednesday Thoughts.

If you made it this far, I'll share with you this funny thing I saw online earlier today. The silliness of it was too much for me this morning. Am I getting loopy or is this funny? Don't answer that.

What about this one? It also killed me.

(source for both)

Happy Wednesday!