Rainy in January

It's raining today... very much as it has for the last several days. In fact, yesterday we had a fairly impressive thunderstorm. Now, I'm normally a big fan of thunderstorms and I have nothing against rainy weather in general but this is January. In Michigan. Now is the time for skiing, for using my new snow thrower, and for generally marveling at the fabulous winter wonderland which is Michigan in January. I have complete faith that the snow will come again but in the interim I remain disappointed by the lack of cold white stuff on the ground.

This attitude is quite different from the one I had a few short years ago. What happened you ask? Well, I embraced the season. I read an article once that said that if you're going to live someplace with a long cold winter you needed to find things that you like to do in the winter. It was for this reason, among others, that I took up skiing. Now, as fall comes to a close, I look forward to winter and to the promise of doing things, like skiing, out in the cold.

On a more positive note, I've put into motion plans to visit Dave and Susan in Florida. I'm headed down on February 9th for a five day visit in warm and sunny Florida (which I don't find bothersome as Florida is supposed to be warm and sunny). Susan and I will be taking an Advanced Open Water class through ProDive, a diving outfit based in Fort Lauderdale. During the course we will have an opportunity to do six dives including a deep dive and a night dive. I'm eagerly anticipating the diving but am even more eager to see my friends again. They have been MIA for the last several group get-togethers we've had (Laboween, Thanksmas, New Year's) and their absence has been a bit sad. It'll be great to be back with them to catch up and to just hang out.