Ski lovers and fans of winter are enjoying the recent heavy snow. For the rest of us who are done with winter, here are some suggestions for things to do while waiting for summer to arrive.
Go to Fred Meyer and look at the grills and swimsuits. Yes, they are out on the floor, waiting to be purchased by the summer-starved customer who is willing to shovel a foot of snow off his deck to make room for the grill. While you’re there, go ahead and load up on the Easter candy in the next aisle over, because it will all be gone by the Saturday before Easter. Trust me.
Try on some swimsuits while you’re at it. It only takes one or two to make you hope that summer takes a good long time to get here — time enough for you to exercise and shed all that winter weight.
Brag to all your Facebook friends down south about how much snow is in your yard on the first day of spring. Shovel it all into a big pile, preferably higher than your head, and take pictures in front of the pile wearing your warmest parka. If you get a friend to kneel down and shoot upwards while taking the picture, the pile will look at least twice as high as it is. Go for it — a little exaggeration never hurt anyone.
Clean out your DVD collection and choose the longest series you can find for a movie marathon. In my house, the prize would go to the complete collection of all eleven seasons of Cheers. The marathon would be punctuated by repeated comments of, “I remember this one.” There was that period back in the day when we would watch Cheers reruns two to three times a day, every day of the week . . but I digress.
Start compiling your summer task list. You know, the one where you plan out the additions to the shed, the new paint job for the fence you built last summer, or the second half of the house that you didn’t get around to power washing seven years ago. That summer task list.
Catch up on your reading. Remember that hot new novel that everyone was reading … back in 1997? Maybe it’s time to finally crack down and read it already.
Take bets with your kids as to when the snow will be gone from the front yard. Sweeten the pot with double or nothing on their allowance, or a chore-free week for the one who comes closest. This activity has the added benefit of encouraging the kids to shovel the snow in the front yard when nobody’s looking.
If you’re still in school, catch up on your homework. It all has to be done before the bell rings on the last day of school. There’s absolutely nothing worse than watching the long-awaited arrival of summer, only to realize that you have to go to summer school. Get everything out of the way now!
Go to church and pray. Waiting for summer offers many opportunities for devout prayer. You can pray for the snow to melt, pray for the air to warm up, pray for the buds and flowers to come out. You can pray for a blessing on your newly planted bulbs, or for winning your bet on the last day of snow in the front yard.
Sing Christmas carols. You might as well. You spent December dreaming of a white Christmas only to come up with rain on the big day. Now’s your chance to sing all those winter songs and have them mean something.
Tune up your bike and take it out for a spin. Be sure to repair the spokes that get broken when you wipe out in the three inches of slush on your street.
Throw a party. Call it an End of Winter party, if you’re willing to go out on a limb and say out loud that it’s time for winter to be over already. Or you can call it a Looking Forward to Summer party — just be sure to invite only farsighted friends.
Keep your eyes on the prize — summer really is coming! You just have to wait. Would you settle for spring?
• Peggy McKee Barnhill is a wife, mother and aspiring author who lives in Juneau. Her first novel, Uniformly Dead is coming out in May through Kensington Lyrical Underground under the name “Greta McKennan.” She likes to look at the bright side of life.
