It’s really real now

Umm, it’s snowing and it’s sticking. I have not had the opportunity to rant about winter as when it’s not actually happening I prefer to pretend it doesn’t really exist. The part that really annoys me about today is that it’s not actually winter yet. If it had the common decency to wait until solstice to become winter I could accept it more readily.
I know I could move somewhere else but there’s 2 things about that, (1) I really must live somewhere where the bugs die once a year. (2) I have an elderly parent 6 blocks away and that's the way it is. There will be no moving far away any time soon due to that. I have an odd quink about filial duty.

But here’s the thing, I had seriously contemplated moving to Seattle about 15 years ago. I adore Seattle. The stuff they say about Seattle being dark and rainy? I don’t buy it. I remember skateboarding barefoot in the bright sunshine of January there. You want gray skies for 4 months? Move to Michigan. It is so dark here in winter it’s like a different world. If you are one of those people who sleep till noon, here you get about 4 hours of murky daylight. It’s like living in Mordor.