Winter days...

I've lived in the North my whole life. Because of this, people often assume that I have a love affair going on with the cold and dark, saying "oh you're used to it" when mention is made of our long winter season. And that is somewhat true. I am used to it. By the time crisp September is over and the winter months loom, I admit I look forward to the long darkness and quieter moments in my life.

Winter for me is hunkering down, bundling up, catching up on my reading and movies, almost like a hibernation mode. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy getting outside and I do partake in many of the winter activities offered here. But I also enjoy the slightly slower pace of life winter brings. Heavy snow and the roads are bad? Ah, lets just stay home tonight....

There is a certain comfort in being at home, tucked in on the couch, maybe with a fire going and a nice glass of red wine. There is a stillness to the winter months, a reprieve from the frenetic activity that the endless daylight of summer brings. Up here, during nice summer weather, one almost feels obligated to be outside all day. Because you don't know how long the nice weather will last, and you know those dark nights are coming soon enough. A big part of me enjoys not having to worry about planning my day around the sun.

Yet this time of year, I find myself beginning to long for those summer days. Over the years, the winter and accompanying darkness seems longer and longer. I begin to wonder what the sun feels like on my face, what its like to go without a heavy coat. I remember my bare feet on the warmth of the back deck, and gaze at all my summer sandals, lined up and ready to be worn again.

I have a love-hate relationship with this place sometimes, but it is home to me. I've traveled the world and still see it as the most beautiful place on earth. We are lucky here, to have modern amenities and urban choices, with the backdrop of magnificant mountains, ocean and wildlife. There aren't too many places where you can drive 15 minutes and be on a wooded trail, where you are more likely to run into a moose or bear than a person. I appreciate all of this, and love many things about this place.

But the winters, the hibernation, grows longer as I get older. I find myself tired of the snow, of the cold, of the dark. I long for spring, for flowers and green grass. I miss it.

We talk of leaving here when my youngest finishes high school. When that time comes, I think I will be happy to  go. Yet when spring arrives, as it always does, and I break out my bike, take off for a run, and put my winter coat away, I remember that the changing seasons are one thing I love about this place. And maybe endless sunshine can be as tiresome as endless winters.

And I love how excited we get up here when the weather does finally change. People break out their shorts and flip-flops as soon as it hits 50 degrees. We start planning our summer hikes, camps and fishing trips. We shake off the dark grip of winter and look forward to those summers, so short, but so sweet.

It's snowing. But I hear spring breathing under that coat of white. We are waiting. We are ready.