{"id":6173,"date":"1997-01-23T16:35:08","date_gmt":"1997-01-23T21:35:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/?p=6173"},"modified":"2016-05-19T16:43:15","modified_gmt":"2016-05-19T21:43:15","slug":"when-hell-freezes-over-or-how-to-endure-three-months-of-ice-snow-and-cold","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/?p=6173","title":{"rendered":"When Hell freezes over (or, how to endure three months of ice, snow and cold)"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Robert Gillis<\/em>
\nPublished in the Foxboro reporter January, 1997<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Booth<\/a>
Booth Field Foxboro (2015)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The icy blast of the alarm clock jostled most of us out of our beds this morning. The browning Christmas tree that we worked so hard to make just right is (hopefully) at the Foxboro compost heap waiting to become so much chipper fodder. The holiday lights are put away. New Year\u2019s hangovers have hopefully subsided.<\/p>\n

Normal life has returned. For the past few weeks it\u2019s been back to school, back to work, and for those of us who worked during holiday weeks, back to more formal attire. The sneakers and genes have been returned to the closet for the dress slacks, shirts, and ties. Everyone is back from vacation. The commute to work is longer, more crowded.<\/p>\n

Coming up: three months of ice, snow, cold, and gray days. At noon, the sun seems a shadow of its blazing summer self. It gets dark at 4:30 PM. Not to mention three months of those bozos in the elevator, lamenting that, \u201cit\u2019s not really the cold but the wind chill factor\u201d that makes it so cold. (These are the same clowns who tell you that, \u201cit\u2019s not the heat, it\u2019s the humidity,\u201d during the summer months.)<\/p>\n

Since we don\u2019t hibernate in the winter, we need to brave this unforgiving season in order to survive. And unless you\u2019re into winter sports, winter is tough and not something to be joyfully anticipated.<\/p>\n

Most of New England is still pretty shell-shocked from last year\u2019s record 100 inch snowfall. We sympathize with the Western states who have been buried under heavy snow, and even the minor snow dustings we\u2019ve received have seemed worse than they really were. That, coupled with the fact that last summer was one of the coolest on record, will add up to one miserable season to look forward to.<\/p>\n

At least you don\u2019t have to mow the lawn every Saturday, and the mosquitoes really aren\u2019t too bad this time of year.<\/p>\n

But make no mistake, this is a hard season to get through and part of the problem is the sheer amount of events, activities, and responsibilities that we crammed into the month of December. How many parties did you attend last month? How many holiday gatherings? How many charitable things did you do last month? How many hours did you spend decking the halls, shopping malls, and trying to stay ahead of the great holiday list? It\u2019s no wonder the January such a letdown for most of us.<\/p>\n

Rather than to read the upcoming winter months, enjoy them. Sometimes we have to slow down and catch our breath, and for some of us, perhaps the only way will slow down is that winter forces us to do so.<\/p>\n

Now is the time to get the little things done. Now is the time to finish (or start) the indoor projects. Now is the time to be a little more reflective about life, and where you\u2019re going in it. Now is the time to remember that all those holiday charities and causes that you helped out last month need your help all year long.<\/p>\n

Now is a great time to read the books you got for Christmas. Now is the time to rent a movie and snuggle with your significant other. Now is a great time to catch up with friends for lunch and movies.<\/p>\n

Now is a great time to make a colorful GO PATRIOTS! Sign to put in your window or to write a letter or make a call to keep the patriots in Foxboro. Valentine\u2019s Day is coming up. If you don\u2019t have someone to share the day with, make February 14 the day you do something extra nice for yourself. St. Patrick\u2019s Day will be here soon, and Irish or not, it\u2019s an opportunity for parties and parades.<\/p>\n

If none of this makes you feel any better, take heart. Before you know it will be driving with the windows open and doing outside work. Planning Fourth of July parties and summer cookouts. Swimming. Sailing.<\/p>\n

Before you\u2019ll know it will all be sitting on booth playground, watching the skies light up in brilliant primary colors, already remarking how fast 1997 to be passing by.<\/p>\n

And remember: opening day at Fenway Park is April 11!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Robert Gillis Published in the Foxboro reporter January, 1997 The icy blast of the alarm clock jostled most of us out of our beds this morning. The browning Christmas tree that we worked so hard to make just right is (hopefully) at the Foxboro compost heap waiting to become so much chipper fodder. The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[157,158],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events-commentary","category-gratitude-and-giving"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.robertxgillis.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}