Winter Has Made Me Crotchety

Funny thing: I had to look up the word crotchety to make sure I was using it correctly. I've used it for years to describe various things.

My American history teacher in high school who lived with eight cats. She lived right across the street from the school and still drove to school every single day. She was crotchety.

My daddy when he said I couldn't stay out later than midnight because only crazy people are out after midnight which was exactly why I wanted to stay out after midnight. He was crotchety.

My neighbor two doors down  would sit at the edge of her front flower bed and pick a flower for me. Her husband would come from their house and "That's enough of that. Get in here." And she would. Her husband was crotchety.

So, I looked up crotchety and here's what I found.

bad tempered; irritable; grumpy; grouchy; short-tempered; testy; ill-tempered; ill-humored; cross; peevish; crabby; cranky; prickly; touchy; snappish; cross-grained; old

Old? Really? But you know what? I'll own it. This winter weather is making me crotchety. All of the words previously mentioned? I'm becoming.

I hear ya, I hear ya. You're saying but it's winter. This is winter weather. And that's the truth. This is winter ... but not the winter I'm used to in Oklahoma.

Go home winter, you're drunk.

Source

The winter I'm used to in Oklahoma is snowy, grey and icky one day and seventy degrees and sunny the next. Sure, I'll gripe about that too. The traditional Oklahoma winter will bring us three or four snow days--but not in a row. It will bring us snow, rain, thunder, earthquakes, sleet and a sunburn--all in one week.

I feel it in my bones, literally. My knees ache, my shoulder throbs. I bundle up in layers just to sit in my own house and watch TV. I say, "Ohmygoodness! It's so cold" everytime--Every. Single. Time.--I go outside.

I've even taken to balling my hand into a fist and shaking it wildly in the air at the meteorologist every time he says the words winter, wintery, polar vortex, snow or ice. Sometimes I even mutter, "Damn kids!"

So, until I get my bi-polar, fickle, completely all over the weather map Oklahoma winter back, I'm going to continue to be crotchety. And if you say anything about my complaining, I will shake my fist at you too.

Late-Night Thoughts On Snow Days

I'll admit it. I love me a good snow day. But I also love summer days as well. That's why, tonight, as I watch the late-night weather bringing me reports of inches and inches of snow overnight and we contemplate the possibility of a snow day tomorrow, I have many thoughts running through my head.

I'm halfway through Gone Girl. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm the last reader in the world to get through this book. I've attempted it six other times. I could never make it to this point. Today, I hit that point where I want to finish it. If we had a snow day, I could finish reading Gone Girl.

I'm about two-thirds of the way through my fourth book in the TMI Mom series, Girlfriends. I have the remaining chapters outlined, and the words are in my head. If we had a snow day, I could bang out a big portion of the rest of that book. 

Since about a month ago, I haven't slept in. My body loves to sleep late. I function better when I can wake up after nine a.m.. I'm a nicer person and can get more accomplished. If we had a snow day, I'd be so nice everyone would love being around me. 

On the other hand ...

The Daughters can barely be nice to each other when they get home from school--a snow day might push us all over the edge where tequila is poured over our morning cereal.

In late May, early June, quite possibly on the fourth of July, when the weather is nice, and we want to be outside reading books and playing in the pool, we'll still be in school because Old Man Winter went bats#!+ crazy.

Either way, I can tell you this much: Imma have to do laundry because Momma needs a clean pair of panties.