An Open Letter To Winter

Dear Winter,

I write to you on behalf of all of us here in the beautiful Granite State regarding the weather. With all due respect, we've had enough. Enough. We're done. Surely you can't imagine that we want you to loiter into Spring's rightful domain. Whatever can you be thinking? Do you have some kind of personal vendetta against us? Adding perplexity on top of many frayed nerves does not make for a pretty combination. It only brings out the worst in us where we might be inclined to do and say not-so-pretty things. Personally, I wouldn't want that hanging over my head knowing I was the cause of it all.

You arrived early and graced us with a beautiful white Christmas. It was lovely, as it should be. I can't even begin to imagine how many Frostys culminated from your various and frequent visits. I might even venture to guess that those sled-making industries had a profitable year, more so than they originally predicted. China will never suffer a recession on our behalf! The same goes for shovel and snowblower manufacturers, sand and salt companies. And Loon and Gunstock and Bretton Woods and MacIntire and all the other ski resorts in New Hampshire? They are still laughing all the way to the bank, definitely. Good for them.

But it's time to welcome the muddy slopes, time for you to go. It is time to allow Spring her due time. No doubt, she will have to work twice as hard to turn all of our frowns upside down to spring-is-in-the-air smiles. Don't you want that for us? Don't you want us to enjoy watching the flowers bloom and new leaves sprout from the bare branches of the tall, tall trees? It's time for the sleepy bears to wake up, up, up!

Please, you have worked really hard this winter and even you need your rest. Turn with the orbiting earth and by the time the autumn leaves have passed peak foliage, we will be eagerly awaiting your return when you will blanket our lovely state with the first snowfall. The sky sees many colors and variations of blues and grays. You give us pure white snow with every storm. And really, the white against a clear blue sky is quite a sight. But so isn't green and we can't get to green until the white is gone and the brown hangs around for a while. Green is a happy color. Like purple and yellow and orange and red and blue. These are the colors of many different kinds of flowers. Flowers start to grow in spring and blossom long into the summer months. We like flowers a lot.

So, if we have done anything to offend you, we offer our sincere apologies. We like you as much as the other seasons. You have so much to offer when you are here. Lots of us are even born when you are here, myself included! But please, off you go now so we can welcome in Spring. We have so much to do to prepare for her and like it or not, she will be here tomorrow. We will look forward to seeing you again in eight or nine months. Okay?

Thank you for your understanding and most anticipated cooperation.

Yours,
Kerri