Spring Has Finally Arrived

I have to admit it here and now. I've had a really rough winter. It started back in December when the thermometer started to show -25...and there was wind with that. I was displeased. I managed to finally hunt down all of the winter gear, besides Logan's snowpants, but that's a different story altogether. I got Logan into his winter coat, got Olivia dressed up for the weather and headed out to Millwoods Town Centre so that I could get what I needed that day. What I really wanted to do what hunker down and just hibernate. Seriously. I want to be a bear.

Anyway, I got to the mall and we went to Canadian Tire for one little thing. So I told Logan to keep his coat on and we'd take it off when we got into the mall proper. Canadian Tire has a separate entrance. It's a bit of a pain in the winter, but it was fine. We got into the mall itself and Logan asked to take his coat off. I said sure and as he tried to unzip it, it got stuck. I was exasperated. I said "Fine, let me try." And I couldn't do it. I checked a little bit closer and noticed that it was broken all the way up to his neck!!! So the zipper's broken and I can't even take the coat over his head.

A good samaritan saw that I was having issues and came over to check what was happening. Logan was really upset because he thought he was stuck in his coat. I felt bad for the poor little guy. The guy managed to gather it up, move it down a bit and then forced it way down. I got it over his head and then was like "okay...it's -25, it's windy. I still have to get this kid home." I got onto the cell phone and called Jeff to say "Well, I hope you have a bit of extra money. Logan needs a new winter coat." Luckily, we did have some extra, so off to Zellers we went to find a new coat. NOTHING! And I mean NOTHING! Enormous snowpants, sure...winter coats, nadda. So I called Jeff back and said, "I'm going to have to go to Sport Chek." Okay...so now we're going to SPEND money. 100.00 later for a winter coat and off we go. Made it safe, and Logan had a winter coat in size 8. It'll last a while at least.

It stayed cold. It stayed really cold. -25's the whole time we were here until the middle of December. (There really is a reason I'm saying all this) We went to the Yukon for the holidays. It was a much better trip than the one we had the year before and a much deserved trip as well. We'd been working really hard all year and we really needed a bit of time off. As we got further and further north, it got colder and colder. In Fort Nelson, it was -32 when we got there. And it just got colder. We think by the time we hit Watson Lake, it was -45, almost so cold it feels hot on your skin. But hey...no wind. Actually more pleasant than -25 with wind.

While we were in Whitehorse, we had an amazing visit with everyone. But the weather just stayed cold. We were hunkered down alot for a day or two at a time during the holidays, due to -25 to -45 degree temps for the entire three weeks. Of course, it was freakin cold in Edmonton too, so we weren't missing much.

On our trip home, we had a great drive, and it was warming up. From Fort Nelson to Edmonton, we experienced a 29 degree temperature shift in the right direction. I was so happy! Three straight weeks of nothing higher than -25 had finally grated on me.

Back home, it didn't get much better. The three weeks we were gone had really affected our routine quite badly, and it was almost next to impossible to get back into the swing of things. And the weather didn't help me at all. Got cold, stayed cold and then snowed...and snowed...and snowed...and snowed. It wasn't worth risking our lives on the roads while we were home. It was easier to stay home rather than spend the time to get everyone's snowgear on. I was done with snowgear back in Feburary. But it was still necessary in March. I had a birthday party I was desperate to go to just for the fact that I'd be out of the house and of course, SNOW. Again. Damnit.

In Feburary I actually went to my doctor because I was having alot of trouble just coping. Coping with the kids alone for ten days in the house for a majority of those days, was frustrating me. Having little or no adult conversation somedays was really difficult. I'd be just sitting on the couch, feeling numb. One day, I finally broke. Literally, it was like my brain just cracked. I laid on my bed just crying. I hear from one room "Wogan's cwyin..." The other room "No Olivia. Mommy's crying." Well...time to move on. Got up, got them dressed and we went to playgroup. Just so that I could preserve some form of sanity.

That night though, I literally felt numb. Like I just couldn't care less at that point. My hair could have been on fire and I would have just sat there. I felt almost nothing. Strange feeling that is.

It took me nearly a week before I started to feel normal again. Once I realized how long it was taking me to get through all of this, I realized maybe I should go talk to my doctor. So, I packed up the kids and we went to the doctor to talk to her about the birth control I was on (perhaps the hormones were exacerbating the situation) or maybe I just had depression. Alot of the research that I checked pointed in either direction. My doctor said that chances were the season was just wearing on me, we'd been under alot of stress (Jeff's job had been in question a few times) and we'd just gotten home from a long trip and was having trouble renewing our routine. She was fairly sure it was just SAD (seasonal affectiveness disorder) and that when the spring came, I might feel better. I hadn't been exercising the way I should have been, I was in the house alot with the kids...it was wearing on me. I needed spring.

Well, it's taken spring a very long time to get here. But here it is. We've been out alot the past few days and now I'm actually starting to feel better. Okay, so after our walk on Sunday my hips ached (told you I was out of shape) and I had a sunburn, I felt great. Yesterday, we walked to the bank to cash a government cheque, then headed to the mall for some groceries. I was so amazed at how much I felt just so much more clear headed. I felt like there was something good changing, and that it was going to be as amazing a summer as I think it's going to be. I didn't go out today, but Olivia's got a bit of a cold and there's lots of things to do around here as well. I actually have the energy to work on laundry, get dishes done, make and eat regular meals, tidy Olivia's room, etc. It doesn't seem so overwhelming right now.

Seems my doctor was right. Winter was incredibly long, I am alone alot, but now that there is more blue sky, running water, geese and sunshine, things seem alot better. But, it also means that I know what to look for next winter. I've never experienced winter the way I did this year. I've never had "cabin fever" that bad in my life ever. I was born and raised in the Yukon. Winters are LONG there. They're having a HELL of a winter this year. I have to say that for all I went through this year, at least we weren't there for more than the three weeks we were. Sorry Yukoners...it's just how I feel. Hope it goes away soon!

Well...I guess thats it for now. I'm sure I'll have more again!