The Shadow of Winter

November 6th, 2009

I am so not looking forward this. The summer days fled before they even had a chance to take hold. Where was summer this year? What happened to it…it was too little, too late, too short, too cold. A lot of “too’s” for one season. Somewhere along the way, I missed it…except for a few days here and there summer resembled spring, and brings up no summer memories from the depth of my mind.

When I was a kid summer was looooong, and hot. Heat waves, burning sun, the smell of water and sand at the beach, the call of seagulls and the drone of small planes overhead. I don’t remember any of that from this year.

Autumn flew in on spectacularly colourful wings almost overnight, and blew out in an autumn storm just as quickly. The colours were wonderful, intense…but too short. Now, the trees are bare, and although the grass is still green, everything else is brown.

Winter is coming…too soon. Like a mantra the thought weaves through my mind…winter is coming, winter is coming. I dread winter. The dreary days with no sunlight, the snow, mounds of it, blocking you off from your neighbours – winter is greedy. It demands attention. Snowfall requires shoveling…daily, twice daily…sometimes more. The days are short, so outdoor work gets packed into a smaller space of time; the worker is harder, and colder and more tiring. It requires work just to get outside, between boots and snowsuits and gloves, hats, scarves…protection.



Lord, I hate winter. It doesn’t like me much either…it sits on my shoulders like a vulture, waiting for me to roll over and give in to the depression of gray, dark days and cold nights. Winter is brutal.

The only good thing I can about winter is that it’s the season that holds Christmas (which I love…HIS time), but Christmas comes where it’s still warm and sunny, so who needs the kind of winter we see here? Not me. I could live without snow, without cold, without dark cloudy days…forever.

author: J.Gracey Stinson