today it finally feels like winter.  its cold as hell outside and i can feel every inch of my body.  i want to drink obscene amounts of hot cider.  i want to sit by fireplaces and listen to the loud “pop” of the wood as it burns.  its time for fingerless glove mittens and ridiculous versions of ‘carol of the bells’.  kids get even more childlike than they already are.  adults get even more stressed than they already are.  i want to wear slipper socks everywhere i go and get ready in the morning with the candles burning holiday smells all around me.  i want to see my breath outside as i walk to my car.  it’s time for layers of clothes and burning cheeks.  its time for the hush outside as the snow falls.  its time for smoke crawling out of chimneys and laughing in the living room.  today it feels like winter.  today i felt the hard smack of the air as i passed from the warm house to the bare world outside.  and everything gets quite in the winter.  and everything gets still.  and people remember that they are alive.  for some reason… maybe its the seasons slow approach of death outside that makes us fight to feel more alive inside.  whatever it is, its warm, and i like it.