But, the breakup is here. My least favorite time of year in Alaska: Spring.
We have been above 40 the last few days, and normally that would really excite me (especially in February, which is supposed to be one of the coldest months of the year), but it just means that everything is melty, and muddy, and dirty.
I would be OK with all of this if I truly believed that it was the end of winter, but come on now! It’s February. Those of us way up here in the great white North know we still have at least a good 2 months of the cold wet stuff.
(Yes, I do rock flip flops and capris in the snow. What can I say? You can take the girl out of California, but you can't take the California out of the girl!)
What is going to happen is that everything is going to melt. Cars, shoes, and pant bottoms are going to get dirty, and then everything is going to freeze up overnight one night and the streets are going to be deadly. I will (very likely) end up getting into an accident (because let’s be real: it is a miracle that I have now survived almost 2 winters without plowing into something or someone - I had never driven in snowy/icy conditions before moving here), and I will almost surely end up slipping and damn near killing myself on these steps outside my house:
This time next year (when I am very hopefully preggers and trying to stay on my feet to protect my growing baby) those icy steps are going to be a nightmare! At least now if I fall I only risk breaking my own butt, but I am going to be terrified when I am worrying about something happening to the little one inside of me as well! I don't stay upright all that often in the wintertime; it's pretty standard that I end up falling good and hard at least once a month.
Last year when breakup began I was so excited it was warm that I put on my tennies and went for a run. That's when I learned that people don't pick up their dog doo in the winter time. It starts to melt during breakup, and is literally everywhere. I came back from that run soaking wet, muddy, and I'm pretty sure covered in feces that very likely got splashed all over me with every step I took. Even though I would love to go for a run right now, I will not make that mistake again.
I do not like breakup. I like it even less because it happens and freezes and happens again at least 4 times before it happens for real.
I should be happy, because this means we are just that much closer to summer (and midnight sun, and breathtaking hikes, and salmon in my creek… The creek that is right outside my condo and very really and truly is called by my last name; tell me that isn’t kismet!) But I’m not, because I am cranky today and I do not like breakup.
Plus, I was walking all over the bottoms of my nice work pants today and they are filthy. It took me until mid day to realize they were dragging (and to be fair, they are dragging because I have thankfully lost a few pounds and they are sitting pretty low on my hips – I didn’t even realize how loose they were until today though, because my tummy hasn’t gone down at all. Stupid Lupron has me carrying my weight around my gut, which has never been my body type before. So, because the faux baby bump hasn’t gone down, I hadn’t even noticed that my booty/hips have… It's so weird when your body behaves differently than it has your entire life!)
Don’t get me wrong. I love Alaska, and I love seasons in a way I (as an Arizona/Cali girl) never would have dreamed possible. I never would have thought this girl:
Would ever turn out to be a girl who adores scarves and sweaters as much as this girl:
But I do. I really really do! (However, seeing these two photos together I do notice the absence of my once always golden tan... sigh.)
Summer time in Alaska makes me happy from head to toe:
The colors of fall actually take my breath away:
And I have come to adore the outfit choices and excuses to stay warm and cuddly inside during the winter:
I even love fresh snow and looking outside during a good storm. It feels like it makes everything clean and shiny again.
But spring? Spring is officially lame.
