I never thought that I would be one of those sun lamp kind of people. 

I am from Wisconsin after all, where snowfalls and falling temperatures are part of my DNA.  It is what creates us Nordic little fighters.  20 inches?  Bring it on.  Below 40 degree windchill?  What else you got.  Football in the 40's?  Never heard of it.

But this winter I have totally lost my cool about the cold.  I have googled light boxes and sunbeams and tropical vacations more times than was necessary.  I have sat in front of the microwave for longer than my mother would have allowed.  And when I sent in my huge tax checks to the government, I actually used a "loogie" to seal the envelope.  It has not been a good time.  And I have not been in a good mood.  I was in, what I like to call, "The Februaries".

And what's so wrong with February, I have to ask myself.  Why such the bad rap?

It is home to Groundhog Day after all.  My favorite holiday of the year.  Where grown men find themselves in top hats and up at the crack of dawn to watch Punxsutawney Phil look up and look down and tell us what we already know.  Six more weeks of winter.

February has V-Day and my B-Day, Lincoln's birthday, Super Tuesday, and The Academy Awards.  And then there is that pending question: to leap or not to leap?  Lots to love.  Lots to celebrate.  And yet, I was miserable.

I found solace in dark corners and under the covers.  I wore gray sweaters under a gray jacket with a gray hood.  I hid in scarves.  I stared at the dirt and demanded something to grow.  I read Dickinson and Plath and watched every depressing award nominated movie.  If it had "Old" or "Blood" or "Devil" in the title, I might have watched it twice. 

I wore out my slippers.  And my Damien Rice music.  And my friend's ears.

But, hells yeah, it is February no longer.  To leap or not to leap, I am a year older, and a month wiser, and if one thing is for certain,  I am ready for a change.

So I am taking my cue from Mother Nature and have vowed to shed the mittens and the moping and have decided to turn my face upwards, to the sun.  It might be hiding, but I know it's there somewhere.  I have my faith back.

I am eating lemons and maple syrup.  I am listening to internet radio.  I am scanning the Self Help section.  I am buying yellow candles and watching them burn next to my TV as CNN reports on the best race to the White House yet. 

I am thinking about buying a plant.  And Swiffering.  And maybe cracking the windows a tad.  And breathing in.

I still sport my gray coat but my hood is down.  My step is lighter as I trade in my winter boots for sneaks.  And my head is looking straight ahead, for the first time in a long time, into the inevitable season of change.  

I welcome it.