Winter over?

Today for the first time since October I felt hope. No, it wasn't a warm tropical day, in fact it was grey and chilly outside, but there were some pleasant noticeable changes. At 6pm the sun had not completely set and I could slowly strut through the streets without shivering. That makes a huge difference. I must have had a dazed look on my face all day today. It's so beautiful to know we're moving away from winter. Of course, I've been here long enough to know it could still snow in March and I won't be able to shed my coat till Easter, yet the desperate oppressed feeling is starting to subside. I get it in October when I take my winter clothes out of the closet. Then, those after-Christmas blues set in when I literally wake up in the dark, fight my way to work through the wind and rain, teach like I'm on an assembly line and run home after nightfall to hibernate for two straight months. If my brain were not frozen I would miss those milder winters of years gone by. Could winter be over? Hallelujah. The sap riseth in me.

I've always said climate is by far what I dislike most about la douce France. I often recall that Roman mythological story we studied in high school, the one of Persephone who descends into hell for 6 months of the year. Life disappears as people suffer on earth. The wicked elements rule! I hear Mrs. Coakley lecturing just like yesterday. Time to wake up Ceres! Yes, October to March is literally hell in France. It gets to the best of us. The sun shuns us, punishing us for some terrible original sin. By late afternoon the streets are deserted and you just can't find people anywhere. It's an awful price to pay for the wonderful times we have waiting for us after about April 15th if we're lucky. France is a beautiful country, with amazing historical buildings, parks full of flowers and plants, and outdoor cafés galore, bustling with a continuous thanksgiving. In May there will be concerts, wine-tasting, vernissages. Legends are written about Spring in France. Today I realized those delicious days are coming. No sun yet, but I'm walking on sunshine. That's the power of hope, or maybe, just maybe I've understood the real meaning of groundhog day.

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