Think we've had enough snow this winter?
I was just reading an article about "snow rage". Someone is claiming it's a form of PTSD that is beginning to affect some people in areas that have been hit with non-stop snow storms this winter. There have been reports of men threatening snow plow drivers when the plow pushes snow onto their property.
Along with snow rage comes cabin fever. You can spend only so much time inside before you feel like screaming and running out barefoot in zero degree weather.
I was wondering if I have had a mild case of snow rage. I haven't threatened anyone or thrown any objects at the windows. I think it's more a case of mild depression combined with cabin fever. When I look outside day after day and there is no color other than black and white, I just want to go back to bed and hide. After that doesn't help, I get up and pace around the house like a caged animal.
Of course, the answer is to go ahead and get out of the house. It requires a certain amount of determination to put on layers of clothes and cover every inch of skin with winter gear, but it seems to be worth it. The times that I have been the happiest this winter are the times when I've managed to brave the elements and get out there. Thank goodness we have kept our 1998 Blazer with 120,000 miles on it. We put in 4-wheel drive and go… out to lunch, out to a movie, or out to the mall. I usually see things I want to photograph (like our neighbors igloos) and I think I will go back home to get my camera and go back out. Why don't I just take my camera in the first place? Probably because I think there is nothing out there worth seeing. I keep thinking about Hawaii, how green and lush it is. I want to move there but my husband won't think of it. One night I was so desperate to go there that I packed my suitcase with flip flops, swim suits and shorts. I was going to drive to the airport and just buy a ticket. Of course, I didn't do it, though.
I did feel rage at first, when I saw other peoples' Facebook posts showing them in warm, sunny, beachy places. But then I remembered… those are my friends. I should be happy for them. I did calm down. I have learned my lesson though. From now on, every winter I am going to have an escape plan, to get away to some tropical paradise. My sanity is at stake.
Oh Judy, I do feel for you, believe me.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same, not with weather, but with the Christmas madness each year, the expense, the crowds, the frantic catering, and juggling family arrangements. Each year I think next year perhaps we can escape.
I also feel for your compromise, I would like to live in the country,my husband chooses the city. I love the desert, he loves the snow. Perhaps he should live where you are to get it out of his system!!
I hope the weather clears for both of us - we have now had torrential flooding drowning stock and even wombats in their burrows! Chaotic weather over here. Strange.
I agree, we've had enough! Here in the Philly area, it's been almost non-stop. The roads aren't as well maintained due to the shortage of road salt, etc. We are in the shoveling olympics! There's nowhere else to pile it. And more predicted for tomorrow. Ugh! I miss my walks, but it's just too icy. This is the first winter I've skipped my walking routine so often. Plenty of shoveling exercise,though.
ReplyDeleteWhew, thanks for letting me join you in venting- and how are the kitties?
Mary
Pam, I could do a Christmas rant, too. It's always stressful. I wonder how your husband would like it here with so much snow. I don't think it's very good for bike riding, for one thing! I feel so bad for your area; I hate the thought of animals drowning.
ReplyDeleteMary, we have friends in the Philly area, but they live in a third floor condo so don't have to shovel. They like to walk in the snow but I think that's a little crazy. The kitties are doing fine. This morning they were romping around in the snow, playing with it. They have their shelters at night.
We got like that in last year's continual rain - all winter, Spring and summer, and booked a week in Majorca before we cut our throats. The day we arrived, it rained.....
ReplyDeleteOh… I am so sorry, dear friend.
ReplyDeleteAnd to think we sit here, and pine for snow!
Always warm, always green… it's a blessing, in its own way, I know. But think of this season as a respite from lawns and bugs, from heatstroke, and humidity. Not so long from now, you will have the pleasure of flowers budding, trees waking up, and a new start. Sometimes, here, we become complacent and thoughtless about the little miracles that come with new new seasons. Courage!