According to the news this morning, Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow, which I probably could have predicted. Like Phil, I am a Pennsylvania resident and there is a deep and gloomy gray cloud blanketing us right now. When Phil does not see his shadow, that means spring is on the way, though this never makes intuitive sense to me. He doesn’t see his shadow because it’s cloudy/stormy/etc., so why would that mean better weather is coming?
Anyway, winter has not been that bad so far. We had a lot of snow a few weeks ago, and we had some very frigid temperatures for a while, but the weather report has lows in the 20s and highs in the low 40s for the next bit, so that is quite reasonable. Perhaps Phil is right.
(Though the trouble with an early thaw is that it nudges the plants to start growing and since March deep freezes are not uncommon around here, you can nip the flowering in the bud so to speak…)
Every Groundhog Day I am reminded of the plot of the movie with the same name — a man living one day of his life over and over again. It is, of course, an interesting philosophical question. How would you live a day if you needed to live it over and over again? Or, how would one live a life if you were to live that life over and over again?
One reason I’m drawn to the idea of making every day life better is because, well, if you were going to live a day over and over again, wouldn’t it be nice if it was a good day? The basic idea of Tranquility by Tuesday (my most recent book, for any new readers here) is nine time management rules that will make an average Tuesday better. A little adventure and some effortful fun makes any day a winner.
In any case, today should be good. I’m working on a big professional project. I’m (hopefully) eating somewhere good tonight. I’m listening to my Bach and writing part of a sonnet. A completely pain-free walk or run somewhere would be a nice addition, but that’s probably pushing it. I will likely work on a puzzle though!
I have a few things on my weekend to-do list. Everyone is getting haircuts. I want to find the Disney magic wrist bands our family already owns so we don’t need to get new ones in advance of our upcoming trip there. I want to go to the library. The kids have a few things they need to attend to (it is high school course selection season, which affects two of my kids for next year…). My “Vanderhacks” newsletter for today is about how to create a better weekend to-do list, so please go check that out!
If you were going to live today over and over again, how would you feel about that? At least Groundhog Day is on a Friday this year!
Photo: Not the current scene, as the snow has melted, but I always like the look of wintry sunsets…
Actually today would be an excellent day to live over and over – I went to a gym class, spent lots of time with my baby, and we have a sitter for date night tonight! I hope to relive this day again before too long!
@Katie – that does sound like a good day!
Yesterday evening I finished a 5-day fast (part of a church event) and had my first food in 120 hours! While I was pretty hungry earlier in the day, the first taste of solid food after so long was incredible. Not sure I’d want to relieve the whole day again…but if only every meal felt as magical as that one did!
@Elisabeth – whoa, that is a lot of time! I can see how the first food would be an incredible experience.