I complain a lot. I mean, I’m generally a happy person. I wouldn’t say I’m crabby or overly contrary. But I do complain more than I should.

One of the things I complain about too much is the weather. I grew up in Amarillo with, very likely the worst weather in the world. In Amarillo you get scorching Texas summers; well above 100 with hot, dry, hair-dryer-in-your-face wind. You get bone-chilling winters; wind chills well below zero with dry, stinging, blowing snow drifting in feet, not inches. And in between you don’t get spring or fall. You get tornadoes and hail. Oh yeah, and wind. Seriously, the trees grow leaning north east. Honest.

From Amarillo, I moved to Colorado Springs. Now, the Springs has unusual weather for Colorado. It’s tucked right up against the mountains, so it doesn’t get all that much snow. Actually the weather in the Springs is very much like Amarillo. The big difference is the scenery!

Colorado Springs does at least have Spring. Spring is when you scrape the ice off your windows before you drive to work, and turn your A/C on high on your way home. When the spring rains come to Colorado Springs you can see them coming down the slopes of Pike’s Peak. It’s gorgeous!

Now I live in “North Texas” which, if you look at a map, is actually East Texas, but  you can’t call it that for some reason. *shrug* The weather here is really not as bad as I make it out to be. It’s hot, yes. Ugly hot. Nasty, sticky hot. From April through September. I could survive in Amarillo driving without A/C because it was so dry. I never really sweat in Amarillo, even toiling on the horse ranch, shoveling mountains of poo in the hot sun. But here, I sweat sitting in the car. Blech!

And North Texas doesn’t really get winter as I know it. I complain (too much) about not getting real snow. Yes, it gets kind of cold, but it just doesn’t snow. So you get all the misery with none of the fun.

If we do get anything, it’s ice. Ice is no fun. You can’t go out and play in the ice. But even when we get an ice storm here, it’s over in a couple of days. The sun comes out and it’s gone.

But then, last year, we got real snow! Eleven inches of perfect snow. Just wet enough to make massive snowmen. And in a couple of days it was gone, the streets were clear and it was back to life as usual. It was great!

Now, in 2011, it seemed like the whole country was getting snow except us. So much snow that they were all sick of it, a notion that is very foreign to me. I love snow!! I love to play in it. I love to drive in it. (Driving in good, wet snow is a lot like racing dirt track, which I also loved.)

Then, it happened. The big one. THE storm. We got our usual, big, nasty ice storm. Freezing rain and sleet that packed down into a deadly ice pack. But this time it’s different. It iced late Monday night. And Tuesday afternoon the sun came out and melted it all, right? WRONG!! Tuesday: highs in the 20’s, single-digit lows. Wednesday: highs in the 20’s, single-digit lows. Thursday: highs in the 20’s, single-digit lows. Friday… Finally something different. Friday: high in the 20’s and snow! Wait, what? Snow?! Yes! Lovely, fluffy, beautify snow. Great! Let’s go play!! Noooo. Because that lovely snow is covering that same inch of deadly ice, only now, you can’t see the dry spots. You can’t weave your way through and avoid the slips and slides. BAH!!

Four days. Four days with no school, no work, just sit in the house watching TV and trying to stay warm. And the big warm up, the promised 50 degree, sunny weekend to clear away the ice and snow? LIES! ALL LIES!! Now they’re saying we’ll finally get above freezing, but only a little and only in the afternoons, for the next several days, maybe a week. Will this madness ever end?!

So, remember all those times I scoffed at the North Texas weather? Remember all those times I said, “I miss real winter. I miss real snow.” I take it back. I take it all back. Please please let me get out of this house!!

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