The final days of winter

If you were to gaze upon this month’s calendar, it will tell you that we’re nearly half way through the month of March. But if you go by this season’s weather, you will feel that winter is planning to leave quite a lasting impression in early 2008. Many parts of the country have experienced snowfall amounts not seen in many years. Just take the previous weekend’s storm that dumped as much as 20’ inches of snow in Central Ohio, a tornado ripped through Prattville, Alabama damaging or destroying an estimated 200 homes and businesses, and let’s not forget the numerous airport delays from the east to the mid-west. Is this the final big storm in these final days of winter, or will there be another storm to remind us that winter is not yet finished this season? To go along with cold temps, falling snow, and icy driving conditions, we can’t forget the sickness that seems to always run rampant this time of the year. It seems to never fail that we’ll catch that ugly cold from a co-worker, classmate, or somebody in the family. What gets me is that despite all the attention given to the need to hand washing this time of year, there’s always that somebody who will sneeze in there hands and keep right on with what they were doing as if it’s no big deal! So pretty much it becomes inevitable that once one person begins sneezing and coughing, most of us will follow suit and experience the same whether we like it or not. But hey let’s look on the bright side; we only have to deal with winter and it’s unwelcome effects for only one season out of the year. I’m ready to ditch the heavy coat in favor of a T-shirt, drive with the windows rolled down again, and drink my favorite smoothie on a warm summer afternoon.