It has occurred to me that the reason I really dislike WIsconsin winter has nothing to do with the weather...directly.

As a child I loved playing in snow, and while I had bouts with asthma, it didn't keep me from disliking the season. In fact it was adventurous, and having since lived in climes where there are no changes in seasons, it at the very least gives one something with which to look forward.

It really wasn't until my second child was in preschool and the third was an infant that the reason occurred to me. We were preparing to head out to one of her two half days at Teddy Bear Nursery School in Lake Mills (WI), and I realized on that mid-winter day that I had found five right mittens and not a single left.

The benefit of mittens is the ability to flip them over and wear them on the opposite hand, but it was at that point that the thing I really detest most about Wisconsin winters is the task of keeping track of, or otherwise finding mittens, boots hats, jackets, jacket liners.

...then after I find mine, I'd have to search for the kids' winter wear. LS