Emerging from Hibernation

March 4, 2014, Washington, DC: You can hear a snow day before you see it. That busy city street out the bedroom window is still, too still, the moment you open your eyes. Something is off kilter and a peek through the blinds confirms it. It's a weekday morning in the city and not a neighbor is in sight upon a hushed blanket of white. But this morning those days are behind us. They must be. It is time. The neighborhood sounds different -- the passing of tentative cars, the crackle of salt beneath heavy boots, a bird chirping and engines warming as the scraping begins. Washington is moving on. It is ready for St. Patrick's Day and one more hour of daylight, for riding bicycles and Nationals' Opening Day.

I feel disconnected from my Washington in winter. Cold days and early nights interfere with the way I interact with my surroundings. Instead of walking three short blocks to the Metro at Eastern Market, I get in the car out front and blast the heat. Instead of exploring new restaurants and visiting friends in other neighborhoods, we stay indoors or choose the closest place in sight. Our social scene slows to a crawl, the circle through which we move tightens to near suffocation. In the indoor exercise classes that replace outdoor runs and rides, I'm reminded that stillness can be more difficult than movement, on both our muscles and on our minds. This winter's stillness has been excruciating.

But soon the ground will thaw and I won't mind walking to the Metro or waiting for the bus. I might wander through the city without shivering, no specific destination planned. Not long now before those of us who have spent months hibernating will emerge back into the city and find it just how we left it, full of fascinating people and movement and life.

Photo by Kate Gallery, Neighborhood Nomads