By all accounts (or at least mine), this winter has been pretty miserable this year for those of us who live on the East Coast. Though December was relatively mild, the subsequent two months were bitterly cold, and filled with seemingly-constant snowfall. Every time it snowed, I would think to myself, “this HAS to be the last time, we’re through the worst,” and yet a week later I hear about another upcoming storm that will make my commute to work entirely miserable.
Because of this, I cannot WAIT for the seasons to change. Spring Forward was metaphorically marked on my calendar with a big X ever since the turn of the New Year. I’m honestly so desperate for warm weather that I’ve reached the point of delusion; I literally made plans to go out during the day one Saturday because it was projected to be nice, when in fact the day before it snowed 6+ inches and “nice” actually meant 45 degrees.
Yet I, who live in DC, could surely have gotten it much worse. This year, Boston had an insane amount of snowfall, to the point where people were diving off roofs into snowbanks, and it was illegal to drive at certain times. Last year, Chicago suffered through the Polar Vortex, and wild blizzards up and down the North-Atlantic Seaboard resulted in one of the craziest days in NFL history. My iPhone’s weather app, which still has a favorited location from my hometown in upstate New York, is constantly reminding me that Schenectady is on average about 15 degrees more freezing than it is where I am.
More than any other, it is this last point that has gotten me really wondering why the winter has gotten to me so much these past few years. I used to live in more Northern locations which tend to see much colder weather, and it never bothered me like it does now. So why do I hate the winter so much more in my ripe old age of 26 than I did even a few years ago? What’s changed?
One, my body has gotten slightly older, and because of that I now appreciate physical comfort, or perhaps suffer physical discomfort, more than I used to. While I’m still open to crashing on someone’s couch or floor if I have to, a plush bed has become a basic requirement for my life. I feel much worse than I used to the morning after I’ve had one too many. And frigid wind whipping in my face as soon as I walk outside is just not something I’m cool with anymore.
One specific thing that has come out of my body getting older is that I just feel colder in general. My hands are cold sitting at my desk right now. My feet are seemingly always cold, to the point where I wear two pairs of socks every single day. It’s not just because of my time spent outside that I’m ready for warmer weather; I’m ready to stop being so cold inside as well.
I think the main reason has to do with the enormous difference in the hours the responsibilities in life force us to keep. In high school, I would catch the bus at 6:30 AM when it’s pitch black out, but I’d at least get out at 2:45 and have much of the day left. In college, the latest a class would ever end was 4 PM, and most of the time you were done earlier, so you were always home with some sunlight remaining and a lot of time to hang out. Despite the fact that the sun still set early, you still had loads of time to do what you wanted with the day. Sunlight just has that type of psychological impact on you.
These days, I usually head for work around 7:15, which means most of the time it’s still dark out when I leave the apartment. I never leave work before 5:30, so it’s dark out by the time I punch the clock, not to mention by the time I get home. Essentially, I’m never home on the weekdays when it’s light out. I get home at night, and it’s pitch black and freezing out. I’m not going back outside. Practically speaking, the day feels over.
It’s not – there are still 3.95 hours left – but that’s the way it feels, and that just means I’m back to the grind tomorrow. Even if you like your job, that’s still a depressing proposition. When I get out of bed and it’s still cold, and walk outside and it’s still cold, and it’s dark out, it gets even more depressing.
Now, though, the Vernal Equinox has come and gone, and we’re heading toward warmer pastures. Sunshine, thankfully, is on its way. Finally.
Wait, but now I’m SWEATING on my walk to work??? Damn it. Weather’s the worst.