I know it’s New England.

I know it’s not spring yet. (But it is technically only seven days away.)

I know it often snows in March (and April) in these parts.

But I’m just tired of wearing my winter coat.

So tired of it, that I’ve been going places without one, trusting that my hoodie or raincoat will be sufficient. And somehow they are sufficient. I think it’s because I’ve also come to the delusion that 35 degrees is warm.

But it’s not warm. In fact, today we’re under another (third one in a month) winter storm warning. Last week it was Quinn. This week it’s Skylar. Riley was before Quinn for some anti-alphabetical reason.

I did wear my down coat to the gym this morning before the heavier snow came, but I did not want to.

It’s like I have an internal statute of limitations for coat wearing and it’s up in the first week of March, no matter what.

Robert claims that the actual weather is what determines the length of time he’ll wear his coat, but somehow that seemingly common sense reasoning doesn’t work the same for me. My heart, mind, and really, ever fiber of my being are all telling me it’s time to stop wearing a winter coat. I don’t know how to change this.

I read somewhere today that “storm fatigue” is a real thing. Maybe that’s my problem.

I think I’ve had one too many storm adventures this year.

There was this one.

And if that wasn’t enough to last for a whole year, last week I altered my entire week’s schedule to get ahead of a storm. It worked, in that I got to Princeton, New Jersey, my intended destination, before Quinn hit. Somehow, though, I ended up in the middle of Quinn trying to visit my niece at her college the next day. It was not smart, but I was kind of determined, and the Lord had mercy on my foolish soul.

Here we are after eating salads at the only restaurant in town still open that afternoon, before shoveling her car out, and before hearing the horrific news of a fellow student who had just been run over multiple times by a snow plow. (She has serious injuries, but is recovering.)

Not only was I determined to see my niece, but I also didn’t want to miss a lunch date with our upcoming women’s retreat speaker. It had been on my calendar for months, and having never met her in person, I was so eager to spend some time with her. She works in campus ministry at Princeton University, and can I just tell you that she is even more wonderful that I originally thought? I wanted to bring her home with me. I had only heard her speak on a panel at The Gospel Coalition Conference last year along with hundreds of others.

Here’s Kori:

We had a two and a half hour sushi lunch (in which I had to confess my wimpy-ness in regard to eating real sushi) and it just wasn’t enough time.

Want to be extremely encouraged over the power of the gospel and God’s transformation of a heart and life? Listen to Kori’s story here and here.

My friend, and recent Smith College grad, Lizzie, rode along with me as far as Brooklyn and back, and snapped this picture of NYC as we skirted around it. Those are definitely snow clouds about to burst.I made it home Thursday evening, visited the orthopedic doctor on Friday morning (two more months to a full recovery, but ok to run the 10K this weekend!), and then drove to Boston to spend the evening in the city and an overnight with my dear friend from Oklahoma, Karla. We discovered two new and amazing restaurants: Rowe’s Wharf Sea Grille (for afternoon tea) and Trade.

It’s spring break, so our congregation was down by about 3/4 on Sunday. Everyone is either off on a mission trip or vacation or just back home for the week. Maybe a good thing, since Kayla’s Protocol Night was scheduled for Sunday afternoon. We had to leave as soon as the second service ended!

All of the Classical Conversations high school Challenge Classes and parents made the drive to Worcester, MA for an Irish Dance performance and a nice Mexican food dinner afterward. There must have been 40-50 of us, and it was a great evening. Bittersweet, too, as it will be our last ever Protocol Night…the end of an era for sure.

We even managed to get in another performance last night before the snow day today. For Christmas I gave Robert tickets to see an indie musician that we love – Willy Porter. My sister introduced us to his music about 10 years ago, and he’s pretty incredible. We try to see him whenever he comes to the region.

It wasn’t meant to be a double date, but Cooper is home for spring break and was completely outraged that we didn’t invite him. (He loves Willy Porter and his amazing guitar skills.) Because of his incredulity, we decided to buy him a ticket, but not before asking Kayla if she wanted to go as well. She did, of course, so, we ended up a foursome, and it was a lot of fun.

We got to talk to Willy for a few minutes and tell him that Cooper and Kayla had also been at that concert 10 or so years ago, to which he gave them each a high five.

And now it’s Tuesday. Classical Conversations was canceled for the day, as are all the local schools here. There’s a fire going in the living room, and everyone is catching up on emails, and papers, and other homework, and I’m about to go make a big pot of Danielle Walker’s Chicken Soup with Roasted Vegetables.

And study for my New Testament mid term.

While not wearing my coat.

Until tomorrow morning when I leave the house again and it’s 25 degrees outside.