Why I Hate Winter

Have I ever mentioned that I hate winter?

I really didn't hate winter until we got horses. I have a warm house to come home to. The buildings at school are heated. I would grumble when walking to and fro, but really, it wasn't that bad.

But when you're spending a couple hours out in the cold....

I know. I am a complete and total wimp about cold. It's been in the 20s, but at least we don't get feet and feet of snow or icy rain. My dad is still wearing shorts every day, but he is probably the exception.

I have tall, insulated, winter boots. I love them dearly and if I had the money I would buy a pair for everyone I know. Why? Because my toes are NEVER cold anymore. It's the best thing ever. Add that, a pair of winter breeches (like sweatpants on the inside!), and a coat (or three...), and I can handle the cold.

But I still don't like it. It's dark before I even get out to the barn. There's blankets to constantly be taking on and off, I never feel like moving, you get all sweaty once you start riding and you have to shed layers but then you get chilled when you finish. The horses don't seem to mind - Pandora's got her trace clip, she stays toasty under her blankets and plenty cool when she gets worked.

Speaking of working - she hasn't been worked much at all over the past few weeks.

I have one final tomorrow and one Thursday. The end of this term, unfortunately, has kind of devolved into an unhappy mess of studying and stressing and studying some more. It really shouldn't be THAT bad, but I am a little bit obsessive about my grades. I came to the conclusion last night that it really doesn't matter if I get a B in Organic Chemistry (which is the worst-case scenario, pretty much), but it's still very, very hard for me to relax about it. My motivation has taken a steep nosedive since the weekend, but I always feel like I should be studying more.

I also don't have all of the material 100% mastered, and that's frustrating.

So, I've essentially given up on trying to ride for the past few weeks. It won't make much difference if she has five days off a week or four, which is what things are coming down to. It's been really hard for me to accept this - noticing any parallels between my academics and my riding? - but I know Pandora doesn't care at all. She gets to spend her days eating and hanging out in a field with her buddies, which doesn't sound too bad to me.

I'm going out tonight - ideally to ride, but I might just longe. I only have so much energy, and as soon as I'm back home, it's more last-minute review to ease my mind about my OChem exam tomorrow.

On the bright side, there is light at the end of the tunnel: we can return to your regularly-scheduled programming at the end of this week. After I'm done with my finals, everything should start running smoothly again. I plan to spend a week or two getting back into riding frequently, then FINALLY take some dressage lessons. If it ever warms up outside.

I hope everyone is doing well and staying warm!