Let me start by saying, I love Indiana. I mean that in the least ironic, most earnest sense possible. It’s my home – my parents, grandparents, and their parents were all born and bred Hoosiers. I have never lived anywhere else, nor do I want to. (Hush, hecklers! ) I take great pride in my home state – I appreciate a crispy, juicy tenderloin as much (okay, probably more) than the next guy. I know all the words to “Back Home Again and Indiana,” and I truly bleed cream and crimson.
However. Wow – does wintertime in Indiana really stink or what? The cold is so damned bitter that it literally makes the inside of your nose feel like it might frost over when you walk outside; it’s dark when you get up and leave for work, and it’s dark when you drive home. Mother Nature keeps dumping snow and wintry mixes on us, but the problem is, there’s really nowhere to go play in it. No mountains to ski down, or quaint little mountain town to sip hot chocolate in. It’s business as usual in Indiana, only now it’s conducted with a permanent layer of gray sludge and slush everywhere you go; staining the bottom of your pants; tracking inside and smearing your floors; getting the baseboards or your car dirty. It’s just so…gray.
So, to combat the winter blues, I’m currently dreaming of my favorite nice weather activities. Eating a green freeze pop while sitting bare foot on my front porch swing reading a magazine. Going for a bike ride on the Monon on my pink cruiser. Getting yogurt from Huddles and loading it up with strawberries and brownie bites, then trying to eat it before it melts. Floating in my parent’s pool, listening to Kokomo’s country station, chatting with my mom and dad. Getting a coke with extra ice and a hot dog from the South Pole. Sitting outside at Moe and Johhnys with friends, having a few cocktails and laughing at the same stories we’ve told 1,000 times . 4th of July in Cicero, playing cornhole and euchre, waiting for the fireworks to start. Movies on the lawn at IMA, complete with a picnic and pre-movie games, trying to stay awake for the whole movie. And, of course, saving the best for last – 7 glorious days on the French River.
What about you? Where do you mentally teleport yourself to in order to escape the winter blues? Are you counting down the days until Spring?
