Fighting Cabin Fever: a battle for the soul

So it's been snowing like crazy here for the last two months. Straight. Every Saturday like clockwork. Huzzah. And you know how it is. The first snow is all "Yay, snow! I'm so happy! Ooh, look it's sooooo pretty when it sparkles!", etc. Don't judge me, you've all done it.

But now it's February and the pretty sparkling snow has turned into so much grey sludge, and it's not so pretty anymore. To quote the wise words of a dear friend, "I am officially disenchanted with snow."

With the February sludge comes the inevitable Cabin Fever. You know the symptoms: tiredness, mood swings, the insatiable urge to do SOMETHING. I usually know I've got it when I start pulling out my shorts and making outfits, then sighing, because I know I can't wear them.

But how can we cure ourselves of this? Is there a cure, or can we do nothing but wait it out? I say there are ways of fending off the winter mopes. Wanna know them? Good, cuz I was gonna tell you anyway :)

The easiest way to battle cabin fever is to go outside. Go ice skating or sledding. Build a snowman or have a snowball fight....and all of these things are, like, twice as fun with a group of friends! Sure we're all adults here, and a snowball fight isn't exactly the definition of "mature". whatever. Just try it. The best part is, these activities are all free, except the ice skating...but if you have your own skates, it's still really cheap.

Another outdoors activity would be to shovel the snow. I know. Yuck. But I don't mean shovel your driveway and section of sidewalk in front of your house. I challenge you to get out there and help some people who can't do it themselves. It could be a little old lady or someone who's out of town, or it could be a large family of small children with no time to shovel their driveway. Helping out like this just makes you feel so great, and if you get a group of friends and canvas the neighborhood, it can be counted as a service project.

But what if you hate being in the cold weather, or you've done all this and it just didn't work? No problem! Do something inside instead. My favorite things to do on a snowy day are to spend an afternoon wandering around the art museum, or going to see a movie(usually followed by an afternoon spent wandering around the mall....I'm a girl, it happens. I will not be ashamed.) Another(and way cheaper) option would be to go to a friend's house and just hang out. But I warn you, serious bonding time and minor shinanegans WILL occur.

Even if you don't want to leave your house, you can still do something to keep your mind off the weather. Call up all your friends and have them over for movies, popped corn and board games....it's called an impromptu party, and they're super fun! Seriously, nothing drives away cabin fever better than surrounding yourself with your best friends and doing something fun!

And just think, before you know it, Spring will be here and you can wear those shorts again!