I Could Use a "Spring" in My Step!

"By the time I get to Phoenix, you'll still be freezing...." Ed left for Arizona yesterday on a business trip and I bet he was singing this song to himself. He knows better than to sing it to me. High temperatures there today will be 84 degrees.

I feel certain that my blood must be thinning or my tolerance for cold weather is diminishing at the rate the polar caps are melting. But what I don't understand is how can they be melting in the north pole when it's so flippin' cold in Michigan every day! I used to enjoy going outdoors in the winter--shoveling snow for the exercise, downhill skiing for the thrill of being able to participate in something with my kids, or even making the occasional visit to downtown Plymouth to see the ice sculptures and shop. Lately, however, I find that I can't even make it to the car without uttering an endless stream of expletives about how cold it is. I'm sick of wearing fleece, flannel, and sweaters nonstop around the house. Pretty soon I'm going to be reduced to ordering one of those as-seen-on-TV Snuggie blankets with the sleeves that make you look like a monk.

When is global warming going to make it to the states? Shouldn't it be here by now? I think I made it abundantly in clear in one of last week's postings that I was extremely jealous of everyone who went away over mid-winter break on cruises, or to the Keys, or Miami. I hate you all.

On the flip side of it, I know come the end of August when the humidity has exceeded 97.3% for 32 days in a row and I've turned into a human sweat rag, I'll be just as unhappy. I don't mind heat, it's just the humidity. When walking to the mailbox or rolling up the hose causes heat exhaustion, it's too humid for me. If we could just have that "dry" heat that Arizona claims to have so much of, I'd be happy. But, I guess you can't be surrounded by the Great Lakes and have dry anything.

That's why I love spring and fall. In the spring and early summer days, you have beautiful, low humidity, above zero temperatures. There's a certain smell in the air and it feels so freeing when you can open up the windows to air out the house. People start cutting the grass and if you close your eyes, it might remind you of when you were a kid. Isn't it a great feeling when you can just walk out the door and hop in the car without having to use all your gas on warming it up ? In the fall, after a long, hot and dry summer, it's refreshing to turn off the air conditioner and open up those windows again. It's that honeymoon period I love--no heat and no air conditioner which equals low utility bills!!!! Sorry people, the weather romanticist stills sees the world from a practical standpoint.

Speaking of being pracitcal that reminds me of a TV show I was watching the other night. This family had been at a hospital all day and night waiting for news on a family member. Finally, they returned home, walked in the door, and started preparing a meal. The guy walked right to the fridge, pulled out some vegetables, and started chopping them up. All without even washing his hands!!! That's all I could think about. Having spent many hours in doctors' offices, the emergency room, and the hospital with my mom last year, I would always walk in the door feeling as if I had scads of germs clinging to my clothes. I know, I have issues. But to not even wash your hands--yuk! And when Ed comes home from an airplane trip--him sitting on the furniture in those clothes is not even an option. Especially when you're sitting on a seat that's been all around the world and who knows what was on who knows who's clothes! That's why they say bed bugs are making a comeback--global travelling!

And on that happy note, enjoy your day and think warm thoughts! Don't let the bed bugs bite!