A Rant on the Clouds

It isn't that I don't appreciate the importance of clouds. They're part of the environment, yes, and without them the earth would be a very dry place. Yes.

But they're so oppressive, all the same. Note that I make a distinction between storms and clouds. Storms can be fun, exciting and thrilling things that they are (think of how Lucy Snowe talks about them in Villette). But clouds, when they spread their heavy cover across the sky and press down on the world with darkness, can be difficult to bear.

This is the tumultuous time in Phoenix. Not long after I got back here from the holiday break, there was a 47 degree or so high, followed a few days later by an 80 degree or so high. Oh, how happy I was to see the sun. I sat in front of my favorite tree on campus (yes, in four years I have come to have a favorite tree), enjoying the grass and the sun while I did some reading. Within a half hour, the five trees surrounding me also had been occupied--now that's a trend I'm proud to start.

But the sun is gone again, leaving not so much cold in its place as darkness. It looks like the cloudy, half-rainy weather is lasting at least through Monday. I may begin to feel like I'm stuck in Byron's (awesome) poem "Darkness." Winter rains just aren't the same as summer storms: they're much more oppressive and depressing.

I suppose I must combat it all by eating the last of the Christmas candy canes, shall I? And maybe some hot chocolate later on . . .