I almost forgot today was Groundhog Day. Not until I realized I would never teach my 4 year old about the months and days of the week when his calendar was stuck on January 15th did I remember what day it actually was. We spent a couple of minutes crossing out the past 18 days. Then I thought I'd explain what Groundhog Day was. Well, I tried anyway. I'd probably have done better if the holiday made any sense. If it doesn't make sense to me, how am I supposed to make sense of it to a 4 year old?
So then I went online to see what ole Punxy Phil predicted this year. I was expecting him to see his shadow. We've had such a horrid winter, just snow piled on snow layered over ice on top of more snow. Really, the snow on either side of the sidewalk in front of my apartment is higher than my knees. And I'm not short. So I was pleasantly surprised to learn that spring should be coming early this year!
I don't know if a woodchuck deserves all my hopes for warmth, but this afternoon, on the tail of another night of sleet, all of the ice and snow that's been burdening the oak trees out front just came cascading down. There are broken shards of ice sparkling all over the snow and actual puddles on the sidewalk, not slush piles.
Don't let me down, Phil!
