Predictably Unpredictable New York Weather

For the first time in weeks, it is comfortable enough outside to leave my jacket at home. I have my 15 month old with me, and he is wearing a long sleeved shirt but that is enough. It is really nice out!

I am taking my 12 year old stepdaughter out to the mall to play a game of mini golf. It turns out the mini golf place is not open on Mondays or Tuesdays. While we're there, however, I am so swept away with what seems to be the changing of the seasons that I can not resist the temptation to seek out a pair of comfortable sandals which I put on immediately after purchasing.

We come back home and I am so happy to be wearing sandals that I don't want to take them off, but I leave them by the door to put on the next morning. If it is nice again like this, I may take my 15 month old son out for a walk and down to the playground. These thoughts are still going through my mind as I fall asleep.

(Wednesday) March 5, 2008

The sun shines through my window and I wake up with a smile on my face. I am very excited about winters end, and plans for the day involving swings and slides. After cheerfully serving up a breakfast of bananas and dry cereal to my son, I am placing the dishes in the sink when I get my first real glance for the day out the window.

It is a really beautiful sight. The trees and grass are sparkling in the sunlight like diamonds. There is no snow on the ground... just ice. To give you an estimate, there is about an inch and a half of ice covering everything. Though it has warmed up a bit, my plans are definitely ruined. The barely worn sandals will have to wait, the playground and walk will have to wait... spring will have to wait.

Surprisingly I am handling myself pretty well for an extremely dissapointed pregnant woman who only wants winter to be over with already! The beauty of the ice may be what is balancing my reactions right now, but by the end of the day I am feeling like summer will never come and that is an idea I am not ready to make peace with.

(Thursday) March 6, 2005

All of the ice has melted, and it is warm enough for to leave jackets at home again. However, it is too muddy for sandals and it is too muddy for the playground. With a cheerful 15 month old strapped into a carseat, the hubby and I are taking a road trip to pay off a traffic fine of his in a town we used to live in over an hour away. It's a good day for this drive, and both of our windows are halway down at 50 mph with no complaints of chill.

It might be simply relative, but the icy chill of yesterday seems like a foreign memory. Spring has definitely arrived and it's about time!

We end the day by breaking out the grill and having a cookout, followed by a small bonfire. The only thing missing is s'mores. Images of fishing and outdoor time with my growing son dance through my mind as I drift off to sleep.

(Friday) March 7, 2008

It is warm again!

Windows are left down for the drive to the grocery store. It is still too muddy to wear my new sandals again (yet) but the windows of my van stay down for the trip to the grocery store.

All day long I am happy about spring finally arriving and wrapping it's warm arms around us after another long New York winter. I ignore everybody who mentions an expected snowstorm. They are all crazy! Winter is finally over, why can't they just accept that?

I seem to have forgotten that New York is different. Here, the four seasons are: Winter, Still Winter, Almost Winter, and Construction.

When we get back, it is still nice out. I had been planning a spaggetti dinner for tonight, but now I am thinking that another cookout would be nice. Perhaps I will run down to the store to pick up some graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars. I forgot to grab milk anyways, and I am too eager to see my son eating his first smore. Why wait? It's finally spring!

Only 10 minutes have passed since I walked through the door and unpacked the groceries I did remember to grab. Only 10 minutes. I haven't even had the chance to take off my boots yet. Actually, I was going to leave them on so I could pick up a few things for the cookout I was so hopeful about.

All hope is gone. Those crazy people had believed the weatherman and now the curse was real. From the kitchen window, I couldn't even see the van that I intended to take to the store. This is what we call 'white out condition'. Snow, and lots of it, was coming down, coming quickly, and coming hard. It was like winter knew that somebody had thought it had left and had to quickly return.

Well, another spaggetti dinner was delicous and satisfying, but not enough so to distract anyone from the 6 to 8 inches of snow that is expected to blanket the muddy spring ground. It;s as if time works in reverse, but only when you want it to go forward. Well, dear readers, I have some good advice. If you like snow... seek counseling. There is a reason people move to Florida.