Don't misunderstand me - I did have a fabulous time in Madison. It was my brother's birthday on Friday so I traveled (with my parents and their dogs) out to visit him as he lives in Madison with his girlfriend (and hopefully my future sister-in-law) Heidi. We did all sorts of fun things - restaurants, chocolate shops, bars, cupcakeries and of course a Ben Folds concert. I could probably write an entire blog entry extolling the virtues of just one of the places we visited.
So then what is wrong? Honestly, I don't know. Perhaps I am feeling a bit depressed because I seem to have used up my entire winter break and have not really done anything majorly creative or productive. I know I need to get my cross-stitch on to start the birth announcement for my friends baby. I should also probably do a thorough clean-up in my house. I should also get back into a regular gym routine.
Do any of these sound appealing to you? If so, what are you on? Can you get me some?
Seriously, I believe that this may be a case of the mid-winter doldrums. Too many months of cold, grey and dismal weather do start to take their toll on the human psyche. Is this a compelling enough reason to contemplate a move to a warmer climate? For me, no.
Alright. I'm about to let you in on something that I have not shared with too many people. It is a rarely explained piece of Megan-logic.
Like many people, I do not like spiders, bugs or other creepy-crawlies. I don't think that this is an unnatural fear, and I certainly am not afraid of them. My general philosophy is that if I am outdoors and encounter an insect or arachnid, I will leave them alone. Obviously, if they are intent on attacking me, I will have to take defensive action, but I will not seek them out. If they are indoors, especially in my confined living space, I will attempt to destroy them. The obvious exception to this plan was my wasp nest battle, but they were at the entrance to my garage, so they were sort of in my living space.
To continue, although I currently live in a land of snow and ice, we really do experience four distinct seasons of weather here in MN. I have oft lamented the misery of the extreme heat and humidity of this place. So to be fair, I actually prefer this time of year if for no other reason than that I sleep like a baby. There are also a few other key benefits to living in a place that can see temperatures drop in to the negative double digits.
Essentially it comes down to the type of creatures that can survive this time of climate. Surprisingly there are some mighty hearty bugs that can preserve themselves through the harsh winter months (Boxelder Bugs, I'm looking at you). However, many of the truly scary ones cannot. By this I am referring mainly to two of the scariest critters (at least in my mind): Black Widow Spiders and Brown Recluse Spiders.
To my knowledge, we do not have these spiders in Minnesota. However, they DO live in the more southerly areas of the United States. Because I wish to avoid the worry of considering these critters in my daily life, I have vowed to never live in an area where they can exist. Some people may find this crazy or silly, but that's just how I think.
I realize that given the right set of circumstances (global warming or job relocation) I could be forced to break this vow against my will. But for now, I remain safely ensconced in my cocoon of snow and ice.
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