Day 22 - Finally

I may have mentioned once or twice here that I don't really like January very much. This year January was obscene, and followed by a February that was practically indistinguishable from January, and a March that was no ride around the lake either.

April almost reached the point where we were going to get the warmer and more comfortable days we really had earned by then, but then Mother Nature rolled over in her bed or something and squashed the pause button on her remote control for a few more weeks.

As of this week, I think I can safely say we've crossed the threshold. We've had two gloriously sunny days, the kinds that demand sunglasses for when you get behind the wheel. We've felt warm breezes that don't even hint at the idea of wind chill. We've even had a few rainy days that have amped themselves up into some good old-fashioned thunderstorms. When I got home from school today I noticed right away how the house was slightly stuffy, and for the first time since maybe October I opened a few windows to let the more comfortable air wash in. Our temperatures have only reached as high as the 70s so far, but that's been enough of a tease to start anticipating the promise of warmer days. Sure, there aren't guarantees. I can remember a few years ago when some friends of mine were passing through on their way from Florida, and were unpleasantly surprised by how cool Minnesota could still be in early June.

On one hand, I can't complain much about the cool summer. After all, I spend at least half of my sunlit hours in a concrete room that is not air conditioned but is filled with some thirty or so eleven-year-olds. From that perspective, hot weather can be the enemy.

But on the other hand? After having the kind of brutal winter that saw schools statewide having to close down due to the ridiculous cold so many times, I'm just fine with the warmer days finally arriving. I'd even welcome a few 100-degree days this year, just to balance out the averages.

Let's just hope I'm not jinxing things by writing this and we'll see 40 degrees and rain in the forecast for Memorial Day weekend.