Cruel Trick of Nature

 Yesterday was a busy work day.  Yes, they are all busy, but yesterday was a little bit more stressful than others.  With that said, the highlight of my day was mid-afternoon, when the sun broke through the clouds for a little bit.  


I know it was February 23rd (which also was my grandmother's birthday), but temperatures were in the 60s.  (Hallelujah!)  As a result I had on a sleeveless top (with a light sweater over it) and leggings.  I knew I needed to take a break from the day and grab a few minutes of blissful sunshine.  It was too late to head for the patio.  (The sun was too far west in the sky and the patio was in shade.)  Instead I grabbed my Nook and headed for the front steps.

Not the most comfortable place to sit, but in full sunshine.  It was quite windy, but not cold.  For a February day it felt WONDERFUL.  I sat there for a good 10-15 minutes reading. (Just started Isabel Allende's Violeta, which is really good.  I've never read anything by her before, although I have wanted to and I think after I finish this I will have to hunt down her other novels.)  It was relatively peaceful and a nice way to de-stress.  A warm February day with sunshine is a true treat.

However, the treat did not last long.   While it may have been in the mid-60s yesterday, today when I woke up it was 28!  (That's per my car's thermometer.)  That's quite a dip. (And not at all pleasant, like a dip in the ocean.)  I've gone from a tank to a heavy sweater.  (Though not heavy enough...I'm sitting right next to the radiator and warming my eternally cold feet.)  Skies are once again gray.  Even worse, tonight into tomorrow morning snow, sleet and ice are on the agenda.  (I'll be honest, it's the ice that has me most concerned.  Snow can be removed with a shovel.  Ice goes nowhere and is much more treacherous.)  In a matter of hours nature has handed us a cruel trick.  Tempting us with warm sun, only to plunge us back into cold gray.


This has not been a particularly "bad" winter.  We've had enough snow (at least in my book), but it hasn't been overwhelming.  But I hear that the robins are back.  (I have yet to see one, though some of my local friends spotted them as early as mid-January.  I believe them, but it doesn't seem quite right.)  I am ready to emerge from the cocoon of cold and step into warm, fresh air.  I'll have to wait a little longer.

Yesterday was indeed a tease.  A trick to make me think that it was spring, when in reality spring is still twenty four (LONG) days away.

Or was yesterday a promise?  A glimmer of hope of what is to come (sooner rather than later I hope).  Spring IS on its way.  It is just out of reach, but gets closer with each hour.  Perhaps yesterday was a reminder that soon we will be able to open the windows and doors.  That sunshine and soft breezes are in our future.  While it may be too soon to pull out that patio furniture (which is sitting sadly in my garage), the time IS coming.  It IS coming.

Until then, I'll just keep the sweaters piled on and look wistfully at the spring clothes in my closet.  

Nature might have tricked me yesterday, but I WILL get my warm sunny days.  To quote the late, great George Harrison:    Daylight is good at arriving at the right time. But it's not always going to be this gray."


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