Boosting Morale

I'm starting to feel as if someone has secretly transported me to Antarctica. The world outside is white. All I can see is a white blanket...no It does not deserve the word blanket because blankets are warm, cuddly, and very lovable. This snow and cold on the other hand are anything but those things. Everyday I gear up for a battle with the elements. Constantly chapped lips, runny nose, sliding and stuck cars, no desire to leave the house because it means being chilled to the bone are all running me ragged. Everyone who told me that we were going to have a horrible winter guess what! You were right! And I am sad and hate your accuracy.

On one of the many days I was snowed in my house, I was watching a History Channel program on Camp Douglas, a Union prisoner of war camp in Chicago that contained Confederate soldiers from 1862-1865. The conditions were deplorable and thousands died of disease and depravation. Those that didn't die were stuck waiting for an end. The pictures showed the men playing cards, playing instruments and singing together, doing anything to pass the time and take their mind of their internment and lack of freedom.

Now I know I can't really compare myself to these soldiers (my pains are nothing compared to their suffering), but I was reminded of them when I was thinking about why I hate winter. Winter is like a prison, shutting me up inside and putting a hold on most of the activities I like to do. It's the waiting I hate and the lack of freedom. I feel like I'm only half of myself in winter. Normally I rejoice in seeing nature and being surrounded by it but now I'm hiding inside my hibernation den. I miss the leaved trees, flowers, grass, and actually feeling the warmth of the sun on my face when I go outside.  

I apologize for the ranting and whining if that's what it sounds like. I am trying to remain optimistic. I know that I can't change the weather, and that eventually it has to turn to spring outside. Like the Fort Douglas soldiers it's just a waiting game and I've got to find ways to pass the time. Right now it's all about finding and doing the little things...and drinking a lot of hot chocolate and Baileys with coffee. 

One thing that winter can't take away is music. I was walking down the hallway in the music building today and I was happy to hear all the different sounds coming from the rooms. These classrooms and this building were alive in a different way than other ones I walk through. As I left the building and then drove home I put on my go to get through winter/in my top 10 songs list, "Apartment Story" by The National. "Tired and wired we ruin to easy,  sleep in our clothes and wait for winter to leave...Stay inside our rosy-minded fuzz for days" are a little sample of the lyrics. Music is always a good way to pass the time. Whether I'm listening to Louis Armstrong and pretending I'm in a different time period, or I'm listening to surf rock and dreaming I'm at the beach, I feel like I'm less frozen when I've got music to soothe me. Winter is also a good motivator for getting things done that I probably wouldn't if I weren't cooped up inside. I'm working really hard to study in Ireland in the fall and I'm using this waiting period to attempt to get organized (not my strongest suit) for that adventure. 

Until I perfect the art of hibernation, I know I have to keep facing the wintry conditions that are so against my inner beach lizard. But at least I've got hot baths, cozy blankets, Netflix, comfort food, and the goal of getting to summer and Ireland to keep me going in the meantime. 

Here's "Apartment Story" if you want to give it a listen. Apartment Story - The National