EXCLAMATION!! I HATE WINTER!!!!!

This is not a confession.  It is an exclamation from the tops of the trees and rooftops.  I HATE WINTER!!!!!!  I may have been reared in arctic weather - I snicker to my other Northern friends when school is closed due to a DUSTING of snow, but I have quickly gotten soft as I have lived in the South for the past 12 years.  I would never complain if I lived somewhere that was warm all year round, as I did for three winters in California.  However, in Norfolk we have definite seasons.  Our winter is mild by MN standards.  Minnesotans are known to wash their cars in shorts when it warms to 50 degrees...  And, I can still almost understand that.  You have to experience it to understand the feeling of standing next to a HUGE bank of old, brown snow in the warm sun.  You can HEAR and FEEL it melting.  You can smell the Earth again as the ground finally thaws for the first time in 5 months.  However, at this point I feel like it is cold, windy, and dreary way too much of the year even if we rarely go below freezing.  My drafty old house may have amazing character in her styling, but she is too darn cold for me.  I doubt the other parents at school will even recognize me without my poofy coat.  The only reason I can stand a convertible is because I have seat heaters.  And, even though my hubby finds it to be a complete turn off, I often hop into bed with socks.  Even during the summer.  Well, the warmth is upon us, if even for a few days.  And, there is no doubt that I love the spring as much in Norfolk as I did in Madison and Minneapolis.  I can feel my vibrance and excitement coming to the surface.  Yes, it is true, Spring has Sprung in Norfolk, VA!

YAY SPRING!