It dawned on me this past weekend that I haven’t posted to the blog in several weeks.  First, let me apologize for the silence.  I spent some time actually contemplating the reason for not posting more often (yeah, I was that bored).  It could be that I really miss having Laura with me every day.  She is after all my soul partner, best friend and the love of my life.  In fact, we just celebrated our 30th Anniversary in April. 30 years of bliss!  Or maybe it’s from missing my kids.  I love spending time with the best kids a dad could ever hope for.  Well, maybe it’s that I’m just too busy with work.  All of those things are true but none of them would make me stop writing.  I mean yeah, I miss Laura, but I’ve missed her from the beginning when I was writing a few times each month.  Same goes for my kids.  Actually, I’ve seen the kids a good bit this year.  They have all spent a good bit of time in NY in addition to the time I have been home in TN.  As far as work goes, it’s crazy during the week but the weekends are pretty free.  No, there could only be one reason….THIS WINTER!

I’ve endured some rough winters in my 52 years.  I even have experience with NYC winters, having lived here last year.  But this winter hurt me…and I’m a winter person.  I actually prefer fall over spring and winter (normal winters) over the summer heat.  This winter changed everything.  It was freezing and unrelenting.  I think it snowed 2 – 4 inches every week from January through March.  There were weeks the temperature didn’t get above 15 degrees.  And what made it worse was the wind.  When you walk between buildings, especially on the avenues running east/west, the buildings serve as a wind tunnel, so 25 mile per hour winds would actually be 40 miles per hour between the buildings.  When it’s 4 degrees, ice on the ground and a 40 mph wind hits your face, it feels like your skin is going to peel off.  My eyes actually hurt from the cold.  Nothing you do or wear makes you comfortable.  To top it off, you rarely see the sun in the winter.  Sunrise is around 6:30am and sunset is 4:30pm during January.  So all I wanted to is sleep, eat and sit on the couch with layers on wrapped up in a blanket my grandmother quilted for me years ago.  This is the first year I think I actually suffered from SAD (Seasonal Adjusted Disorder).  It makes you dread going outside.

So, I didn’t write because I was frozen.  New experiences were few and far between. But then something happened.  SPRING!!!!

The City is absolutely beautiful in the Spring.  Living here is like living in a huge work of art, a living sculpture.  The parks and boulevards come alive with flowers.  The cherry trees blossom and even the buildings seem to shimmer a little brighter.  As harsh as the winters are here, the springs more than make up for it with the low humidity, and beauty you can find everywhere.  During the winter, the sidewalks are barren but in the spring, tables spring from coffee shops, cafe’s, and diners.  Runners fill the parks along side the kids and dogs playing on the grass.  If you can survive the cold of January and February and the heat of August, all the other months make this an amazing place to live and work.  This past Saturday, I spent the afternoon with some friends at one of our favorite spots to eat wings, sliders and the best tater tots I’ve ever eaten to watch the Kentucky Derby.  To our surprise, we actually felt like we were there.  The men wore white derby hats and the women looked like they walked straight out of Churchill Downs.  There was a bluegrass band playing before the race and everyone was really into the experience.  Only in the spring, only in NYC!

So, now that it’s warmer, I’ll try to post more.  This month, Cassie graduates from Walker Valley High School so I’m looking forward to spending some quality time in TN with the whole family celebrating her accomplishments.  Until next time…enjoy the Spring….I know I will.