It’s cold and gray outside.

I know this is not breaking news. It is winter and that’s what we expect.

I may live in Texas, but I understand about winter. I’ve spent many years experiencing winters in cold places like Colorado, Connecticut, and West Virginia.

What I don’t understand is what winter is doing here in Texas.

We’ve been in a deep freeze with temperatures below freezing for days. Ice shut the whole city down for two days. We’ve had multiple snowfalls in southeast Texas since the first of January for heaven’s sake. Okay 2″ hardly counts as a blizzard, but that snow included Galveston, which sits on edge of the Gulf of Mexico. That’s just unnatural!

The troubling thing is that winter is a long way from ending.

Spring doesn’t officially arrive until 11:15 AM CDT on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. As I wrote this blog that meant there were 58 days 6 hours 49 minutes 4 seconds until its arrival. You can click here to know exactly how long we still have to wait.

In my blog research, I also learned an interesting fact from Space.com. Winter is the shortest astronomical season and it is currently being reduced by about one-half minute per year. Spring loses approximately one minute per year. With the shrinkage, winter is expected to attain its minimum value – 88.71 days – by about the year 3500.

Summer gains the minute lost from spring, and autumn gains the half-minute lost from winter.

I like that winter’s length is decreasing and autumn is gaining the time. Fall is my favorite time of year. On the other hand, I’d have to live until the year 3500 before I see shorter winters. That’s not happening.

This winter weather reminds of the nursery rhyme my mother used to console me on rainy days when I couldn’t go outside.

Rain, rain, go away
Come again another day
Mommy wants to go out to play
Rain, rain, go away

There are several verses using father, sister, brother, and family in place of Mommy. Mother would substitute my name and my siblings’ names as she recited the poem. I used the same poem with my children and grandchildren  when they would be stuck inside on rainy days. It never stopped the rain, but the children enjoyed it.

Until spring arrives, join me in reciting the poem and substituting winter for rain. Maybe it will make the cold more bearable.

Winter, winter, go away
Come again another day
I want to go out and play
Winter, winter, go away