A lot of people try to convince me that winter, snow, and cold are preferable to hot and humid summer. But they will never convince me.
Winter hurts. Like seriously. The lower temperature and dry air become chapped lips, runny noses, dry and cracked skin. Breathing cold air stings. And don’t get me started on the number of accidents caused by icy road conditions or the financial hit that small businesses endure when no one can get to them.
Sure, summer can result in a sunburn if you’re not careful. But that’s nothing compared to the broken bones of slipping on ice in the parking lot. (Yes, I realize that I broke my bones in warm months, but that’s not the point.)
When it’s hot outside, you turn on a fan, take a dip in a pool, or blast the A/C. When it’s cold? The only relief is sipping a warm beverage next to a heater and going nowhere. Even my car yells at me when the temperature dips below 37 degrees. It knows that cold is dangerous.
Then we add in people holed up inside trying to stay warm only to share all of their germs and spread them like wildfire.
That’s what’s happening in our house right now. We’ve been stuck at home for almost a week because of icy conditions and Monkey brought the flu along for the hibernation. If leaving the house for school and work had been an option, it might have stayed a single casualty. Unfortunately, everyone has been gathered around our one TV to while away the hours, which has given those germy opportunists a chance to jump from host to host and my husband and Squirrel have each fallen victim.
So far, I’m doing okay. I did get the flu shot, so hopefully that will protect me. I had a dentist appointment this morning and decided to spend the rest of the day at my office instead of in the germ factory. I’ve started to cough a little, but I really hope that nothing is able to take hold.
One thing’s for sure. You’ll never convince me that winter is superior to summer. Every now and then I contemplate the prospect of moving north to get away from the “Southern Hospitality” that isn’t all that hospitable, but then I remember that they get winter for way more than just a week. And that’s a big ol’ no from me.
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