Longing for a winter that never happened

This winter has been a huge disappointment. I knew that moving south would mean that we wouldn't get to see as much snow as we're used to from home, but last winter was ok and the timing with snow was wonderful for when Kat and Sarah came to visit. We've had some snow this year too, but it hasn't stayed long at all and it's mostly been rain falling from the sky.

Winter here is wet, dark and seems to be going on forever. I have now stopped hoping for snow, though you never know what April brings, anything can happen still. Another aspect to the tedium of this season may well be the poor state of my health. I've been blessed with a cold four times in the past six months. I don't know if I should start worrying that there might be something fundamentally wrong that my body is trying to draw my attention towards... My mother claims, with the conviction of someone who will never move away from the small town where she was born, that it's the big city air that's maknig me ill. Or the pollution rather, of course. In my bluest moments I'm even prepared to admit she has a point...
I believe there are several factors contributing to the situation. The warm winter being one of them. Another factor may well be that work is feeling really boring more often that not. I really liked it to begin with. I felt that I was learning lots of new things and skills, but somewhere around November-December I realised that this position doesn't really contain much more than that, and when I have that down there won't be very much else allowing me to evolve. I can get into a big whinge about this from time to time and that leaves me feeling ungrateful for having a job at all. I have started applying for other jobs though. Sooner or later I'll be out of here. I've only been promised work until the end of June at this point, with a possible extension for the rest of the year, but I'm rather hoping I'll have found something better (and preferably closer to home) before summer.

I try to end all my posts on a positive note, so I saved the plans for the immediate future for last:
In just a few days we're going up north to see the families for Easter. I miss my parents and I'm looking forward to seeing D's side of the family as well. But the most important part of this trip is to enjoy the fantastic season of spring-winter that we only get in the north of Sweden. It's when there's still snow and cold nights to prevent it from melting, but it warms up during the day and the sun is warm and the weather just amazing! Long walks through snow-clad forests and on the ice of the Bothnian Bay are one of the things we'll occupy ourselves with this coming week. I can hardly wait!

Happy Easter, dear friends!

keah