Eww. Snow.

It's been raining all morning, which is fine. I like the rain. Makes things green. Makes bugs (especially bees) go into hiding. However, I looked out my window a few moments ago, and what do I see? Big, wet, snowflakes. Gross.

I've always disliked snow. It's cold. You have to change your socks and pants as soon as you get inside if you were unprepared for the snow. The messiness of it all is only made worse if it's still not cold enough to stay snow on the ground, but rather slushy, muddy goop.

With the first few snowfalls of the season comes the freezing-your-butt-off days. These days are the first reason I hate winter. I've only ever lived in areas where it gets below zero. However, any day below 20°F gives me sharp pains in my temples. As well, it just makes my face super dry. Dry, chapped skin hurts all around and is super sensitive until it warms up again. Of course, this only happens after prolonged periods in the weather. Thankfully, I no longer have to walk to school, or the bus stop.

My car is old. It's just a few years younger than me. I love my car though. Love, love, love it! My dad bought it when I was 4 years old. He took very good care of it. So much so that technicians are shocked at the shape that it's in. It makes me proud. Still, it's old. It doesn't do well in freezing temperatures. It takes 20 minutes just for it to start blowing warm air from my heater. I use my heater as an indicator of when it's ready to go, because I don't want my car to freeze over or break. When it was here before, and in Idaho, it was always in a garage, so it never really had to deal with the cold the way it does now. I wouldn't whine quite as much if I had a garage now because I wouldn't have to warm it up, but also because I wouldn't have to scrape it off.

When I started driving is when my true disdain for snow and winter began. Snow melts on warm sunny days, and then refreezes over night creating danger, accidents, delays and sometimes death in the morning. I hate icy roads more than anything. I almost slid into a pole once! That was scary. When I was little, my dad hit a patch of black ice while driving to Ohio to visit family for Christmas. Our van ended up in a ditch on its side. I refuse to drive if it's icy. Fortunately, Steve is comfortable on ice. He knows how to handle the car if it starts sliding. I know how to in theory, but I panic if I start to slide. It's torture. I want to live in the southern US where it's warm all year round. I want to live where the whole city shuts down if we just so happen to get a few inches of snow. I just don't want to have to speak any language other than my own, and I shouldn't have to, but that's a whole other post if I ever feel inclined to write it.

While I hate snow with passion, there are a few upsides to it. It's absolutely gorgeous when it sticks to the trees. I don't mean when it rests on top of them, I mean when every side of every branch is covered in it. It's beautiful! It's also an awesome excuse to snuggle even closer with a hot cup of cocoa, and wear fuzzy socks. However, these things do not outweigh the bad, so my contempt for snow remains.