Mørketiden

Dark time.

It's the Dark Time in Norway.

The days are short and dreary and gloomy. It's cold. It's wet. There's mud.

It's almost impossible to get out of bed in the mornings. I mean, seriously hard. It feels like 5 am and it's actually 9am and there's no sun and and it's raining because the snow won't quite stick and ARGH!!!!!! I drag ass out of bed like an old lady with arthritis. This is the hardest part of the year for me, by far. I can handle the cold, I can even handle the snow (ice is a bit tricky) but the dark kicks my ass EVERY year. It's when I get homesick, when I miss Austin and warmth and sun and having a beer on my back deck in 60 degree weather and telling everyone how cold it is and ohmigod I might need a sweater.

However, and I always have to remind myself of this, the darkest day is December 22, and from then on the days get longer. Light WILL come again. And it happens fast, just as fast as the dark comes. And then we gain three minutes of light a day. That's 30 minutes in a week and a half.

Just let me make it through the next 3 weeks.....and sorry if I am not awake in the mornings. I'm hibernating.