The Doldrums

I've always hated the post-Christmas winter months. When I was still working, it meant commuting in the dark, often in cold and icy weather. Now that I'm retired and living in Texas, winter is very different. We get lots of sunny days and weather in the 50-70 degree range. In the past couple of weeks, though, there has been torrential rain some days and gray skies, the kind that remind me of a Toledo winter. 

There's not to much to punctuate the days right now. Valentine's Day was a bigger deal for the kids than for us, after 50 years of marriage, and I've never done much for St. Patrick's Day other than baking Irish Soda bread. I look forward to warmer weather, so we can get the outdoors ready for summer: taking care of the pool, planting flowers in my planters and front yard and cleaning up the back patio so we can set up the outdoor furniture. Although no one will be swimming for a while, I like the color and taking care of my plants.

I do have a fun trip planned. In mid-March, I'll be traveling to Connecticut to see my long-time friend Claudia for a few days. We've known each other since age 13, when her family lived just around the corner. She went away to boarding school and then college, so I didn't see her for a while. Then we ran into each other at a friend's engagement party and discovered we were living a block apart! We began dating guys who were roommates, John and Andy, and soon we both married with them being in our wedding party and we in theirs. Although they lived in California most of their married life, we still managed to see each other. 

Sadly, John passed away much too soon, but my friendship with Claudia endures, kept going with frequent phone calls and the occasional visit. I can't wait to see her, as well as her daughter and her family, who live nearby. Maybe I'll just make it through the next month after all.