Oh it's almost Groundhog's Day and we're in a blizzard ~ hey! : )

Not really a blizzard.  Just 10" of snow with a thin layer of ice in the middle, resulting in 4 days off school for the littles and a leeeeetle cabin fever for the rest.  Luckily, I still remember last winter's lesson that going outside, no matter how crappy the weather (or sometimes, the crappier the better?) makes a huge diff in my attitude, at least for a few hours.  Or maybe it's just the St. John's Wort finally kicking in.  Or maybe it's the psychological perspective of the days' sunlight finally getting longer . . .

Or maybe it's the 2 days I spent in bed past noon (ahhhhhh . . . blessed sleep!)

I have been complaining to the husband for about 2 years now (because no one seems to take this freakin' thyroid disorder of mine Seriously enough sometimes)  that I have literally FORGOTTEN what it feels like to "get enough sleep."  As in, what does it feel like to get out of bed because you actually got enough rest, rather than because a kid is crying or you have an appointment somewhere or the phone is ringing?  I had truly forgotten that feeling.  And no, insomnia doesn't count as "not needing sleep."  Just the opposite sometimes, maybe it's the sub-manic, semi-welcome, polar opposite of exhaustion, but it isn't the same as real energy.

But for the record ~ shout it from the rooftops ~ I had one day this year (January 29, 2009) when I slept in from around midnight till 3:25pm the next day and I got enough sleep!

Yes, you read that right.  I actually got out of bed because I had had enough rest and felt competent to face the next 8 hours or so.  Till 10pm~ish, and the littles were abed and I could surrender to the torpor again.

So we still have a good 6" on the ground but most of the major roads are good, and tomorrow is actually February.    As an act of supreme self-preservation (clawing towards optimism one bloody fingernail at a time), I am going to look through the gardening catalog and actually order something to start our seedlings early.  

Those of you who've followed NelsonLand gardening adventures over the years may argue that therein lies madness, but I reject such nay-saying.  Gardening isn't about Product Yields or any such.  Remember that little seedling at the center of "Wall-E," that they all risked their lives to protect?  

It's an act of faith, pushing away awareness of the too-close, deadly COLD,  to warm our little souls till spring comes.