On being cold and grouchy

I have been grouchy since Monday.  It's been cold and snowy.  Yes.  I live in New England.  Yes.  It's December.  No.  I wasn't ready for it!

All of a sudden, this week, the weather decided to be winter.  The temperatures dropped, and the precipitation turned white.  And I got cold and sore.  Does it happen as you get older the cold just eats through you worse and worse?  Then there was the roads.  I don't prefer to drive when the roads are icky.  Plus, I had planned on Tuesday to go shopping, which didn't really happen.  My plans got all messed up.

I quickly noticed a pattern.  My grouchiness was focused on me - my plans and my comfort.  So I told myself to stop grumbling and be thankful.  For the icky weather?  Well.  At least it was just a coating of snow.  I could see out the driveway, not like the year there was so much snow I couldn't see the traffic coming.  At least it's easy to stock up on food for the week, even the month, at the grocery store.  We're not stuck in the middle of the plains in a Long Winter like Laura Ingalls Wilder was.  They barely survived that winter.  Once I started with my thankfulness, it kept coming, and my attitude changed.

I'm still cold tonight, but I have a cup of hot tea, and a blanket waiting for me.  I'll survive the winter, and spring will come again. I suppose since time seems to go faster as you get older, the spring will be here before I know it!