it's not life that matters but the journey...

I'm not nearly as happy as that cat ....

why, you ask?

It's the beginning of December. Thanksgiving is over – 25 days until Christmas, and only a month until we begin a new year. December means different things for different people. And after living in the Midwest for more than 3 years, it means the beginning of a long and cold winter: Months and months of nothing but cloudy, cold days, and snow on the ground until April.
I know there are some of you out there who like winter, and who love snow. I have loved snow in the past, especially when I was a kid and could play in it, and miss school. And when I visited an onsen in the mountains in Japan (just above Nikko) in the middle of winter, I sat in a steaming hot outdoor “rotenburo” surrounded by ice and falling snow, and I was in heaven! Snow is so pretty when it is falling and blanketing the earth in white and peace.

But then there was this morning. For the third year in a row, Mother Nature decided that December 1st was a good day to dump the first major snowstorm of the year onto those of us in the Chicago area. The first day back to work after four heavenly days of rest (and even decent weather). It wasn’t like the snow was a surprise or anything. It “snowed” all day yesterday, but the temps weren’t cold enough for it to settle – so it was more like frozen rain all day Sunday. However, overnight the temps dropped and the snow continued to fall. I woke up several times during the night, wondering how much had accumulated, but I wasn’t worried. It didn’t seem like so much from my window, so I allowed myself 15 minutes extra time to clear my car of snow and get going to work. 30 minutes later, I was still struggling with the thick ice that had built up on the windows, and I had to use all of the strength I could muster to get the heavy piled snow off of my car. And to top it off, the stupid snow plows had dumped a bunch of heavy snow and ice BEHIND my car, so I had to shovel that out of the way before I could back my car out.
Then there were the roads. Apparently I live in a suburb that can’t afford to salt the roads, because I was sliding all over the place for the first few miles of my drive. And then when I got to the next suburb, where my company is located, the roads were all nice and clear. Yea that’s so nice – I guess I live in the ghetto suburb! The traffic wasn’t bad, but I had to drive slowly – my car is old and small and not good on icy roads. So I arrived to work 20 minutes late – thankfully I think everyone was a bit lenient because it was the first snow of the season – and the first day back after the holiday. But still, it was more stress than I needed on Monday!

Otherwise, though, I was truly happy with my long weekend. I was so organized, and got so much done: wrote out and addressed all my cards (now I need to get them in the mail); got presents for family and materials for my little Christmas gift craft project (I’m gonna make little bags of lavender and other herb potpourri for my friends); cleaned (except I didn’t defrost my freezer which I had intended to do); read 70 pages of my textbook (about 60 more to go before the final); organized; baked cookies; and slept. Strangely enough, I hardly watched any shows or movies, except for ones I’ve seen (which I watched while I wrote out x-mas cards and knitted). Saturday night I went with my friend Sarah and her boyfriend to see my hubby play some funky blues at a little dive bar near where Sarah lives. It was a late night – we didn’t get home until 3 a.m. (we waited for almost an hour to get his money!)

Work today was so busy – and now I need to brave the roads again to get home. Let’s hope the snow is all done for at least this week!