S.A.D.

Seasonal Affective Disorder.
I think I might have this.

As long as I can remember I've loved winter...for the many ways to have fun in the snow, the holidays (of course!), the sweaters and jeans...and just for how picturesque it is. How it makes me want to read more, cook more, drink hot cocoa more, and even organize my house more.

Lately, however, I've been suffering from a mild case of warm-weather-withdrawal. And I've got several reasons for this, but the greatest of these is the simple outdoor time with my kids. I miss it. I miss it in the morning, when we have an hour to kill and we can't go walking on "the trail". I miss it after lunch, when I can't send the boys in the backyard while I clean up the kitchen. I miss it in the afternoon, when I can't sit on the front stoop and read (or usually, talk on the phone) while the boys nap...but oh...oh...how I miss it at that truly special time of day: the pre-dinner hour.
Holy crap, friends. It's killing me.

On a lovely warm weather day, my wee ones--hard-wired with the rambunctious and crazy chromosome--play happily outside with a random assortment of neighbor friends. And even though I'm chasing them up and down the street in my flip-flops, we're all happy because we're breathing fresh air. And the scenery has changed.
But lately, lately...well, yeah. Not so much.

Lately they're spending their time running around the main floor, creating new and sometimes dangerous obstacle courses around the first floor of the house. And I certainly haven't seen the whites of my neighbors eyes in weeks (this makes me particularly sad, being the social creature that I am), and no...no...I'm not wearing my flip-flops.
Major sad.
Not even to Yoga class.

As mentioned, what bothers me the most is the social bit. I miss the random conversations with neighbors, the sharing of stories from that day's craziness with fellow moms in the neighborhood, the impromptu plans that are often made just by being out and about among neighbors...but mostly, just watching my boys run around and get all red-faced and sweaty from the outdoor fun. I really miss that. I miss (believe it or not!) having to give them baths every night because their little bodies are grass-stained and covered in dirt. And I miss the daylight that we have, whether we venture outside again at night...or just enjoy the fact that it's light out.

Seriously, I think I might have that thing they call Seasonal Affective Disorder.
And if I didn't have it before, I surely have it since moving to this neighborhood...and more importanly, having kids.

But.
There is a but (and no, not the one on my posterior--which, ok, randomly? is not fitting the same in my jeans after all these months of Yoga...but anyway).
What I'd like to mention now...at the end of my tirade on the woes of winter...is how special it's finally becoming, now that we're fully immersed in it.

This morning, for example, just getting the boys all geared up from head to toe in their snow suits and watching them walk like zombies (Jonny's the funniest...PLG boots are Benjamin's hand me downs and a bit too big) out into the snow. And as I type, they are helping their neighbor friend (yes, we still seem to make contact) build a snow fort. It's so much fun to watch...and every now and then Brian walks over and dumps snow on them from the shovel, sending them all into hysterics.
In an hour or so we're on our way to get our Christmas tree...and the boys (especially Benjamin) are out-of-their-mind excited (I want to officially patent that phrase for all things Christmas-related with children) about decorating it.
Tonight we have our annual Christmas Road Rally with the neighborhood...which the Millers and we are co-hosting this year. We've spent a lot of time putting it together, including one late night over beers thinking up ways to raise the bar on the creative and hilarious factor of the event. As our beloved neighborhood mayor (known as Ted Oostendorp) said at one of our last summer gatherings--"Ok guys, we've got to plan some events for wintertime...otherwise we won't see eachother!"
And while this sentiment might seem a bit ridiculous to some, it's not to me. Or, I'll venture to say, to any of my neighbors. Or really to anyone who can relate. It's just important to find ways to maintain the sense of neighborliness (did I really just use that word? shoot me now.)...or you go insane.

So, I guess...I'll submit. I'll give in to this winter thing.
I might even enjoy it.
I'll miss the random drop-ins of friends (one favorite suddenly comes to mind---Maureen riding up our driveway on her Pee Wee Herman style bike on a Sunday afternoon, on her way home from Rite Aid, where she rode to get a bottle of gin for that night's BBQ at the Millers...and popped her head into our mudroom door with the following statement: "You guys are going to Megan and Brian's later, right? And holy s**t...did you see that f***ing McCain/Palin sign up in the new neighbor's yard? Seriously, Meg...can you get me an Obama sign now for our yard? Better yet, get me two!" ......and with that, she hops back on her bike and pedals home around the block).

But here's to tonight's festivities.
Here's to the hilarious prizes I found last night at World Market.
And here's to the holiday cheer and fun in the snow with kids...

And to Maureen, who'll be at the party.:)