Winter Solstice

Shortly after 1 AM this morning the earth's orbit put the northern hemisphere officially & astronomically into the Winter season. For all intents & purposes it's been Winter for about three weeks already. New England has already received more snow in December than we did all last year. No shit.

The cycle seems to be 1-2 snowstorms per week. The temps don't go much above freezing. Rock salt & de-icers are in big demand. Bare pavement is scarce in my neighborhood. Ice dams are forming on people's roofs.

Throw in the Christmas season & all the tension & crap that go along with this festive season & it adds up to fun times. My running so far this week has been non-existent except for the 10 miler I did on Tuesday. It's not the weather that keeps me off the road but, the fatigue from shoveling & back & forth commuting. I hope to get out tonight & begin to salvage the rest of the week. Alka & Priyanka are back in Leominster so,that's be nice too.

As a family, we have to run the Gauntlet that is Christmas. Then next week my company does Inventory, another Large Pain in the Ass. It's unfortunate but, what used to be a nice festive time of year for me has become one long, drawn-out endurance event. It's like a first time marathon. You don't look to finish fast or pretty. You just want to finish alive. I hate sounding melodramatic & whiny but, that's what this time of year does to me now. I'm in the Valley of Indifference until the New Year. Once we get past the next two weeks things will get better. Even with the screwy weather..