Denial Works

If all the stars are out tonight, it will be a nice day tomorrow.
– New England weather lore

It's true: I woke up at 4 AM and the stars were shining into my room through the skylight. I was too excited to go back to bed (and too sick with this cold), so I stumbled downstairs. When I went back to bed at 6 AM the clouds were back, but I didn't care. The storm had broken.

Yesterday was uneventful. Anticipation is worse than reality. It snowed all day but the temperatures seemed to be always above freezing. By dusk the snowfall was very heavy and accumulating and I thought we would be clobbered. But by 11 PM it was over. In bed last night, we all fell asleep to the sound of sleet on the skylights. The cats don't like that sound but I enjoy it. Some cats immediately crawled under the covers. The others laid their ears back in their sleep.

I went to town today to run errands and it seems that the whole world has come out. The wind is very strong but you can tell spring is here. It is lovely and wonderful. Everyone is sick. The clinic won't see anyone anymore with a cold because they are swamped. You can only go if your fever is at or over 101° (38.3° C) or if your congestion becomes suddenly worse. They told me to call back in a week if I am not better. None of us seemed to feel sick today, though, in this beautiful weather.

At EM Brown's the wind flung open the door and took down some ceiling tiles. At the Glover store I heard that St. Johnsbury's power is out. At the post office I heard that half the town has laryngitis, like me. The C&C is putting in new freezers so none of us can find anything anymore. There was no Ben & Jerry's to speak of. When you are sick you need a good supply of Ben & Jerry's. I had to settle for M&M ice cream cookies.

I treated myself to lunch at the Pharmacy and it was wonderful. It was very crowded with 15 people. All the tables and counter stools were full. Everyone was talking about how lucky we were to have missed this storm. We all seem to be enjoying this warm wind.

I relax when the wind roars like a never-ending train as it comes down the mountain behind me. It is a familiar and comforting sound. I love the smell of the wind from the earth and the trees. Mud season is back and I am sick but I am happy. I am no longer isolated. The snow in the back is shrinking so quickly that it is now at the lower level of the windows. I saw a bare spot of earth in front of the house right under the eaves. The sun is out. The icicles are all gone and water is pouring off of the roofs.

_/\_/\_