To all the winter weary out there, you are not alone. Last week, on my daily walk to the dining hall through Our Lady's grand campus under her glorious trees, I spotted something I had never seen before. I observed a squirrel wallowing through the grass. There was no scamper or spring in his step, just a lethargic wallow. Needless to say, this was no ordinary squirrel. What once was a fit and trim scavenger of the wild was now transformed into a giant ball of fluff and fur. I know nuts are fatty, but I had never seen a squirrel that obese. Other squirrels have since followed suit. They are packing on the pounds for the terror that lies ahead.Unfortunately, it's beginning to look a lot like winter.With the end of the home football season and start of spring registration, time has begun to spiral into the vortex of lost days leading into the depths of winter and, consequently, misery. Mother nature is doing plenty to usher out the warm weather too. Leaves are falling from trees. Frost is blanketing the grass. Icy winds have begun to sweep through the Bend. Why then is it necessary for us to facilitate the process? Each time I walk into Starbucks I cringe. The wintry cups and holiday music lingering in the atmosphere are a little too much for me to handle. The radio waves are jammed with "Jingle Bells" and "Oh, Christmas Tree." It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas?Give me a break.Don't get me wrong, I am a definite supporter of Christmas, but I find it ridiculous and extremely annoying to find these conditions before Thanksgiving.I would like to preserve my last few weeks of peace before I have to lace up my boots to trudge through drifts of snow on the quad and think about the holidays.My serenity lies where I lie - on the quad, that is, on those warm and sunny days looking at the sky. Let me have these last days, for the winter will be long and brutal. Squirrels will continue to fatten, leaves will fall from trees, and time will hasten towards the first snow. Do not become weary; keep playing outside and wearing shorts and sandals. Make these days last and fight off winter until the bitter end.
