The Anticlimactic Victory of Spring

It's February. I don't put much stock in whether the groundhog sees his shadow or not, but the very fact that he looks for it reminds me that spring is going to return. Every February signifies my favorite part of winter--the downhill side. But today, when the temperature was in the upper forties and people ran around in shorts and t-shirts, it felt wrong. I love summer. I wish I could go live in summer weather all year long. But right now, here, it shouldn't be warm.

When I complain about snow, some people tell me "there must be opposition in all things," and therefore we need snow in order to appreciate sun. I tell them that I've had enough snow and, if I never saw it again, I could still appreciate summer for the rest of my life. But maybe there's something to that whole opposition thing. I'm sure it will get colder and snow a few more times before the end of winter. But this February, I'm thinking the victory of spring seems less triumphant when it has conquered nothing more than a few days of snow and a few days of temperatures below twenty degrees.