Open Letter, Spring Edition

Dear Chicagoans and Various Other Individuals Living in Proximity to Chicago:

I come to you again to explain how to deal with changing of the seasons. Spring is coming. Agonizingly slow, spring is spreading over our frozen landscape. Life is renewing. The grass is a tad greener every day, and the daffodil shoots have worked out of the soil.

Congratulations. We made it through a horrendous winter. Despite your difficulties last fall knowing how to appropriately deal with winter, you eventually learned. We dealt with driving winds that made our eyes tear and our eyelashes freeze together. We survived scarves frozen to our cheeks with our own breath. We used bottle upon bottle of lotion to abate the dry, cracked, chaffing skin. We layered our socks and gloves two or three deep and still ended up with cold, stiff fingers and toes.

It was a harsh winter. Overall, I believe it was one of the snowiest on recent record, and also one of the top 5 coldest since record-keeping began. We struggled through it together and now find ourselves on the cusp of Spring. Notice I did not say "in" Spring.

Alright, technically, the first calendar day of spring is March 20, but since when does weather abide by calendar dates? Yes, I know it was 70 degrees only 2 days ago, but Ol' Man Winter and Mother Nature are in cahoots. They are mad at all of the times you cussed them out and complained this past winter. They will let spring come, but they are going to make sure it is painfully slow.

That being said, put your jacket back on! When it is cold enough to see your breath you should not be walking around in your shirt sleeves and bare arms!

Thank You,

~g