Thursday March 28th, 2024 8:24PM

Can I have spring back now?

Over the years, I’m made no secret about the fact that I hate winter, but that’s not completely accurate. I only hate the cold temperatures, the bone-chilling wind, the snow and the ice.

Other than that, winter is just awesome.

I thought I was lucky this year. Winter had been pretty much a no-show in northeast Georgia. In January and February, there were 14 days when the temperature rose to 70 or above. That’s more days (12) than when the temperature was below freezing.
 
I loved it.

We had one close call in early January. Weather forecasters predicted four or five inches of snow would fall across north Georgia. Worse, they predicted it on a Saturday, when no one would miss a day of work. The snow was supposed to be followed by several days of sub-freezing temperatures, which meant the snow was likely to stick around.

Fortunately, the forecasters were wrong. We only got a slight dusting in Gainesville, and by the middle of the day Friday, the snow was gone and the temperature was rising.

Once March arrived and temperatures were back in the 70s, I thought winter was gone.

Not so fast.

The same weekend we “sprung forward” into daylight saving time – traditionally a sure sign of spring – a cold front approached and dropped the overnight low temperatures into the low 20s. Thanks to that aforementioned bone-chilling wind, the “feels like” temperature was in the low teens.

Normally, I would have dealt with the cold snap the same way I do every year. I would have stayed in bed with the blankets pulled high until the spring thaw. It works well enough for bears, so I’ve adopted it as my strategy, too.

Unfortunately, as I’m mentioned here before, I’m on a mission to get my fat rear-end (and the rest of me) into shape. My trainer says I need to walk for at least 45 minutes twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.

Sometimes, when it has been cold in the morning, I’ve shifted that morning walk to lunchtime. But it was so cold last week, the temperature barely made it to 32 degrees by noon, so I had no choice but to bundle up – two pairs of sweatpants, three sweatshirts, a knit cap and gloves. And I was still cold. In fact, my face probably won’t defrost until late May.

Some friends suggested alternatives. One said I should go to the mall and walk laps. But I don’t like going to the mall when I actually need something from the mall. Going to the mall to walk seemed barely a rung over walking outside in the cold.

Another suggested going to the same center where I swim and using a treadmill. But walking in place on a treadmill seems terribly boring. Warm, yes. But boring. I’m not sure I could get my miles in on a treadmill. It remains an option, though, should more cold weather arrive.

I have friends who were celebrating last week’s cold snap. For reasons I’ll never understand, they love the cold weather, and truth be told, they’d love to see several inches of snow on the ground. One friend posted photos on Facebook of the fire he built in his fireplace.

“Only second one of the winter,” he wrote.

Well, friends, you have had your cold weather. I hope you are happy.

Can I please have spring back now?

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