It always happens this time of year. There are days when you think that it doesn’t have to be this way, that we can just keep on going the way we are. But you know...deep down you realize that it is goodbye, at least for the winter.

For me, it started weeks ago. First it was the flip-flops. I wanted to hang in there, but my toes were freezing and I realized that the time had come to put them away for the winter. Was it easy? No. A couple days later it hit seventy and I thought, “We can work it out...maybe if I just try a little harder.” By the next morning it was thirty-seven, and I had to face it. It was time to move on.

I was still hurting from that when everything started to unravel. Going outside in just a T-shirt, a morning cup of coffee on the deck—I was overcome in an avalanche of “it’s not you, it’s the temperature.” Stupid temperature. After a few nights in the thirties, my in-laws told us that they were leaving us for Florida. Florida?! That little show-off. What does Florida have that we don’t? I mean, sure, they’ve got warm sunshine but we have, we have...sigh. Who am I kidding? Heck, I’d do Florida for the winter if I could.

There are more goodbyes to come. All those little shortcuts we take. We have so many amazing dirt roads in our area, and, if you’re not afraid of dust, you can crisscross over a mountain and shave tons of time off your travels. Sure, some of those roads have this “No Winter Maintenance” thing about them, but all summer long we have gotten along just great. But as we get to s**w season and they get covered in all that white stuff, we begin to see another whole side of them.

Those shortcuts can be downright scary. I’ve tried. I’ve tried reconnecting on a nice day in January. But you only get so far until you realize that it is a mistake. They might look fine at the intersection, but a mile in they give you that icy glare and you realize that you shouldn’t be there. Nope—just better to say goodbye until May.

But it’s not all bad. I’ve recently run into some old friends. My wool hat. Sooo glad we got to spend some time together doing chores the other morning. My gloves. They were a bit stiff when we first hooked up last week, but I think with some time they’ll loosen up. And my main man—that gray hoodie! Dang, we were inseparable last fall. We’re going to be hanging out a lot soon. Hmmm, I wonder how long until I see those insulated coveralls? They really had my back last winter.

So yeah, I’m fine, it’s going to be fine (sniff). May is just around the corner, right?