Groundhog Day
My actual expression when I realize I’m how old now?
On February second of every year, a large chunky rodent is pulled out of its burrow to massive crowd of onlookers in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania. If it’s a cloudy day, then hooray! Spring is here! But if the sun is shining, oh no! It means six more weeks of winter.
It doesn’t even make sense, does it? Shouldn’t a sunny day mean spring is here? Shouldn’t a cloudy day mean winter is still among us?
We can thank the Germans for this. In fact, it is possibly centered around an ancient Candlemas proverb about avoiding too much optimism. Just because it’s sunny today, means winter is probably coming again soon! Hence that shadow means more winter!
Groundhog Day also happens to be my birthday. So, no matter what forecast our locally famous weather shrew predicts, I am always 1 year older.