March Is In the Air

I gotta say, the month of March is the biggest tease out there. It’s the month that gives you absolute beauty and utter misery within a matter of twenty four hours. It’s a tease and I don’t know what to make of it – I suppose I should by this point in my life, but I don’t.

Get this – last week we woke up to a foot of snow. A few days later, the sun was shining and it was over 50 degrees. Now, we’re back to the 30s with clouds and wind. I even saw a few flurries this afternoon. It’s supposed to get nice, then not, then nice again. I’ve never been good at handling the month of March.

The minute this time rolls around – every single year – I say to myself, “Well, that wasn’t so bad.” I take off my seven undershirts, sweatshirt and jacket to lounge around in just a t-shirt and fleece. Then, and like this is a shock to me, I’m freezing. The funny part of this whole thing is that I actually stay freezing and I wait it out. It’s true. Instead of putting my warm clothes back on, I sit here and wait for Spring to come. But in the meantime, I shiver and shake and get my muscles all wrapped up in a bunch. The only time I feel any heat is when I drive around in the car and when I roll around at Jiu-Jitsu.

You’re probably wondering why we don’t just crank up the ol’ heat in the house. Good question. I’ve got what I think of is a fairly decent answer. We’re moving. The house we’re living in is currently on the market. Not so long ago, I stocked up with wood pellets and I had the oil tank filled. We have both a pellet stove and baseboard heat. Well, we actually have gas logs too, but I’m not talking about them here.

Anyway, I only bought one ton of pellets this year and we’re down to three bags left. If we can only make it through with just this one ton, I’ll be a happy boy. It’s all principle with me. It’s a race I’ll never win, but if I can avoid having to scour the town trying to find wood pellets half way through March, I’ll have won something. I bet no place even has pellets anymore, so it’s probably out of my hands. Laura’s been great at conserving too. She rations like it’s nobody’s business.

Now, about the oil. I think we can be a bit more liberal with that because we’ve got three quarters of a tank. I’m pretty sure it’s a 275 gallon, so we’re in good shape. I already called the oil people and told them that they should stop delivery and they said they’ll put me on the will call method. I’ll call if I need anything. But I’ll be damned if I have to buy another tank of oil just because we can’t stand the bitters of a chilly Spring!

In the meantime, I sit and write in the cold with shoulders that are tense like it’s nobody’s business. It’s actually kind of fun. Brings me back to my roots. I like conserving and not having to have things. But I will tell you something – the heated seats in my car are like a dream. Every time I get in there and let it warm up, I snuggle down deep in those bucket seats and savor the warmth. Ah, all in good time.

In a few months, I’ll be begging for the cold.