Thursday, January 2, 2014

Winter Vacation: First Snow Day of 2014

    Happy New Year!  I hope everyone had fun gorging themselves on Chinese food and binge drinking with friends.  Now that the holiday season is officially over, we can now move our focus to the wonderful aspects of winter vacation.  Usually this means nothing to adults, but to those select few who do still appreciate winter there are still fun times to be had.


    I know I speak for a lot of people when I say snow SUCKS sometimes.  For those who haven't had the pleasure of living in a cold-weather climate, driving in it can be extremely dangerous, especially for those people who think they're invincible with four-wheel drive.  Schools close, kids emerge and begin construction on their various snow homes and winter weaponry.  You can usually see adults shoveling, or more likely snow-blowing their way out of their driveways.  As a kid, I was always enlisted to aid my father in shoveling the driveway in order to learn how to do it properly.  My sister and I had tiny shovels and we'd start a path from the porch to the driveway and go on from there, (usually in no particular direction).  It's a fond memory I have of winter and I plan on teaching my children the same way, (or rather Tom will, seeing as I'm awful at shoveling nowadays and can't seem to stay outside for longer than ten consecutive minutes...).


    I have something called "Raynaud's Phenomenon,"in which my extremities lose circulation rapidly in the colder weather.  Because of this, my hands and feet will feel a burning sensation whenever it gets too cold outside.  This prevents me from grabbing my steering wheel, shoveling, cleaning off my car, etc.  Basically just going outside hurts and it's very inconvenient, but I've managed for this long.  I'm hoping that, in the future, I will find some gloves that will work to keep my hands warm, but so far, no luck.  I'm lucky enough to have a husband who will selflessly clear snow after a hard day's work.
    Needless to say winter hasn't always been my favorite time of year due to my medical problems.  However, I do enjoy sledding/tubing, skiing and ice skating.  My dad used to take us sledding in certain places, as I supposed a lot of people have done.  In fact, I think my dad is the reason I enjoy all of these things, seeing as he took us outside the most.  I owe him a lot for my love of winter sports and for teaching me to not be afraid or hindered by my medical issues.  I love him more for that.


    As for now, I enjoy staying indoors, curled up on the couch in my sweatpants with a movie or a good book.  Speaking of that, I am officially starting my reading for the month of January.  I will only be reading one book seeing as I have less than a month and I need to stop once my spring semester starts up again.  I will be reading Divergent by Veronica Roth to start that series.  Eventually I would like to read all of them, but until I have the time I will start with the first installment.  As I have stated before, on Thursdays I will be talking about my progress in the book as well as my feelings and inferences as well.  I am excited to start reading again for leisure:)
    Enjoy your snow days if you have them.  I will be hanging out in my apartment for the next 48 hours avoiding the outside world as best I can.  I see a nice mug of hot cocoa and some home made mac and cheese in my near future, so I will leave you to your various engagements in winter merriment.  Tell me about your favorite parts of winter in the comments below!  I will be continuing my Harry Potter Marathon.  Until next time, I remain your faithful correspondent.

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