four little higgs: happy new year

personally, i find january 1 to be a depressing and artificial start to the new year. maybe it's just me, but it seems very difficult to motivate oneself to start anew in the depths of necessary hibernation. nothing really feels fresh with gray skies, dirty snow, subzero temperatures, and darkness at 4:30pm. jewish people at least push back the new year to the fall, but in iran, they celebrate the new year on march 21. the first day of spring, OF COURSE. what day could indicate more promise, the start of a season of thaw, of new growth and birth, of warmth and green? in every sense of the word, march 21 really seems to be the true "new" year.

of course, any other year, mid march isn't much better than early january in terms of temperature (though at least there are fewer weeks before it starts to warm up and feel "new"). but this year, chicago, like much of the country, skipped spring altogether and went straight from snow to blistering heat. living in the midwest, you grow accustomed to these sudden, severe, unpredictable changes in weather. you also learn not to ask questions, and when the temperature breaks 50, regardless of the calendar day, you better put on your t shirt and organize an outdoor activity immediately.

but this year, we had a snowfall a few weeks ago, and within the next few days we were flirting with 60 and 70 degrees here and there. then, we were hit with mid 80s day after day after day. last year, we didn't see buds and blooms until the first week of june. this year, sure signs of spring are everywhere in mid march.

this is almost entirely a wonderful thing (along with spring forward), we can leave the house with far less planning and have gone from 0 to 2 outings per day. you can imagine, this does wonders for mental health, breaking out of the confines of our two room home, getting sunshine and (somewhat) fresh air, just doing something different in the routine.

we had about two days of bliss, and then we were again reminded why i hate living here. our apartment building does not replace ac filters until april, because it is still frigid in april every year except this year. thus, we have no air conditioning. we do however have a lot of windows. on the 15th floor with a lot of windows, clear skies and mid 80s, our apartment has turned into a greenhouse. it's at least 20 degrees hotter inside, no matter the open windows, doors and ceiling fan...we have to lay low since heat rises, play in the bathrooms because the tile is cooler, and run ourselves under the sink to cool off. sleeping at night or naptime for all four of us has become a real challenge. trying to convince bean to sleep without pants is a work in progress. pants. PANTS. PAAAAAAAAAANTS! they do love their routines.

in spite of this legitimate discomfort, i think we're all still grateful for this early thaw, and the ability to get outside. it's a perfect send-off for us out of the midwest, since i doubt i'll ever miss the true winter, and summer in chicago is pretty magical. if the weather keeps up this way, we'll have several extra weeks of beach time before we head west.

other than the weather, life is status quo. we're enjoying a prolonged period of neither baby being sick, which makes life grand. i'm still working my tail off in preparation for our move. david is coming off two relaxed weeks and is about to do the same until he graduates (except without the overtime pay). aside from the constant sweltering heat, we really can't complain.