Thanksgiving is wonderful, but...

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time. See my previous post for reasons. Aside from all that, I get a 5 day weekend. That can't be bad, right?

I really enjoy everything related to Thanksgiving, but it's what it leads to that bothers me. No, I'm not talking about weight gain and indigestion. I'm not talking about a turkey induced coma either. I'm referring to the dreaded "W" word. W-w-w---wi-wi---win-win-win---Winter. There. I said it. Winter. Other than Christmas (which will be a later post), there is absolutely nothing positive about winter. I don't like the cold, I can't stand the ice and snow. I despise shoveling my driveway. I dread the darkness at 4 in the afternoon. I shudder at the thought of being cooped up in the house for months on end. Snow days you say? Teachers love snow days, right? WRONG! It is nice to have a momentary break from the drudgery and grind of work. But the long-term implications of a snow day make them totally not worth it. The disruption the the schedule, the revamping of lesson plans and of course if you pile up enough snow days, you get to make them up in the summer time. No thank you.

Even though my retirement is a long way off, I still have plans and dreams. Just like my mom and Cliff, I plan on retreating to a warmer climate in the coldest, darkest days of winter. I'm not talking about buying a million dollar beach house. I'm talking about renting a simple little place off the coast, and soaking up some sun in mid January.

Winter is horrible and it only gets worse as I get older. The only snowballs I want to see are coconut covered snack cakes in the grocery aisle.