This week my daughter looked forward to Groundhog Day, a day almost halfway between the first day of winter and the first day of spring. It reminds me it will get warmer and as days get a little brighter it is easier for me to see the end of the darkness just by pausing to say it.
November and December are always the hardest months for me as it gets colder and darker. I think about things I wished I had done throughout the year and forget I should invest in a full spectrum therapy lamp. I coast through January and, with the first dawns of February, it seems like everything begins to get more interesting.
All in all it hasn't seemed like a bad winter. The cold snaps have been brief and I didn't really realize how much snow we had until I saw the trails of shovels on several of the roofs in town and snow carved by the snow plows leaving the thick multi-coloured layers where sidewalks will emerge in a few months.
My mind is healthier when I have something to look forward to and even though 'just six more weeks of winter' is rarely the case in this part of the world, it is a reminder the snow won't be here forever.
Looking forward to a week on a sunny beach or hiking through a canyon in a t-shirt can make the season shorter, but we don't always have the luxury of a winter holiday and I have to seek out other things.
I started dreaming of a big trip to somewhere exotic and interesting where history is alive and the life and language are much different than our own. I began to figure out how much we'd have to save and was looking into setting a goal for the spring of 2012 to go to a place we have always found fascinating.
The political climate in our first choice erupted and I've started looking at other places, wanting to visit a location where there is justice for the people and caring for the land.
I caught the travel bug at a young age and want to visit many places in this country and around the world as a responsible tourist. I am able to appreciate just how fortunate I am to be living where day-to-day life is peaceful and safe and I can actually make plans to travel when and where I want to.
I have much to look forward to and many things I want to see, especially the snow melting and the first green blades of grass and flowers of spring.
