On a 50 Degree Day in the Middle of February

My boyfriend and I play a game in the winter called “Spot the UGGs,” where we count all the pairs of UGG boots we see every day – whoever sees the most wins. This past January has broken all of our previous records.

So, you can imagine my dismay when yesterday was a balmy (if not excessively damp) 52 degrees and I saw rain boots, sneakers, and two pairs of flip-flops, but not a single pair of UGGs.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for warm weather and not having to trudge through three feet of snow. I won’t miss the drifts in the parking lots, which are taller than me. I don’t even mind the river of brownish, melted snow water that is currently flowing throughout half of campus. This warm weather has been great.

Yesterday’s big thaw totally shifted the disposition around campus. Everyone’s mood brightened as soon as we realized we could wear our regular coats and hoodies instead of parkas. The “athletically inclined” were able to jog through campus again (though why they’d ever want to jog up and down the hills of Macomb to begin with is beyond me). In all, Western seemed to be a happier, freer place once we got a little break from the cold.

It’s incredible what above-freezing temperatures can do to a community. I know I felt like a more productive person yesterday simply because outside didn’t remind me of the end of a Russian novel. Everything from housework to homework got done, all from a little sunshine. This is the kind of weather a girl could get used to.

I just really miss playing the UGG boot game.

-Julianne Kaiser