-25C and Dreaming of Sunrises in Japan

I woke up this morning not looking forward to the cold.  And yet, it just isn’t that bad. No, I don’t like –25C and the snow but this year has been quite manageable so far.  The closer we get to March (about 4 weeks away), the better I feel.  Yes, I know we can still get clobbered with a snow storm in March and I’ve lived through several of them, but I feel better about it because the days are longer and I believe that whatever snow comes, it won’t stay long.  That’s just better.

The last fearful storm in my memory was December 2009.  We got smacked pretty badly and I had to fly out to Japan just after it hit.  I hated that.  I didn’t want to leave my family to deal with the storm.  In fact, I hated it so much, I bought a Jeep last summer in case we got another bad winter.  The Jeep was winterized and has a remote starter, better wheels, heated seats and of course, 4 wheel drive. During that hated December storm, I committed to buying a 4WD SUV to deal with winter driving. Is that too strong of a reaction?  I don’t know.  But that winter storm really bothered me – so much so that it was even a topic in my 2010 job performance appraisal. My boss commented about my “dedication” in the face of adversity.  He knew I had a great deal of difficulty leaving on that trip and commended me for it.  I never took that as the compliment it was intended to be.

This morning as I was driving my daughter to the University (right beside where I work), I was telling her that even this cold snap is not so bad and I know it gets a lot better quickly.  I told her that once we get through February, whatever comes by way of bad weather will be short lived.

The dark hours and restless sleep of the very early morning today brought back that poignant memory of December 2009 and I have been thinking about it all morning.  I’m pretty sure I know why.  It’s because I am flying over seas again this week but this time I am feeling relieved that the storm has passed.  That’s definitely something to be thankful for.

Below is a photograph from that time in Japan.  It was taken through the window of my hotel room as the sun was rising over the Pacific ocean.