It's cold outside. 

It's cold outside, 

Morning arrived. A pale ray of light squeezed through the blinds of her room.

The misty blue walls slowly reflected the day and Zulmira's eyes perceived the moment.

She turned her head on the pillow and denied the time. The bed was warm and cozy. From the street, the sounds of cars came to her muffled by the snow, like in a whisper. 

Zulmira's mind awoke, but not her eyes. Her thoughts were on the extreme winter. Her lips mumbled " Again snow! " She could tell by the silent street. 

The road was covered with snow. The entrance to her driveway with two or more feet of heavy snow. The removal truck always dumped snow along the sides of the street. That was so annoying to all residents, especially,  when they had just finished the task of cleaning their driveways.

Images of snowy days, and,  their challenges clogged Zulmira 's mind. She hugged one of the three pillows around her. From the other room, she could hear snoring. Her husband was still sound asleep.

"Good for him," she thought.

Zulmira opened her eyes. She struggled to move out of bed. Her pains and aches were always stronger in the morning. The face and neck pain, the right ear pain, the right shoulder pain, her right hand, and even her left knee were acting weird lately. 

Slowly she raised her knees. She stretched her arms and hands toward the ceiling.

She exercised her right thumb crippled by arthritis. She opened and closed her hands several times. Her left hand was still numb from sleeping. She felt the unpleasant needles and pins. Blood flowed again. 

" Zulmira it's time to get up! " she called herself with a harsh voice, her mouth dry and her lips thirsty for water. 

She sighed and repeated " Zulmira you have things to do, people waiting for you, let's go! Now!!!!" 

With pain, she got up. She sat on the edge of the bed, her feet barely touching the floor. It was a tall bed. The mattress was new. Firm as she liked. For years she endured pains in all her body. Many doctors and no solution. Sleeping became a challenge. But Zulmira concluded after many experiments that firm surfaces were always the best for her back. 

Mornings were an exercise on endurance and mind motivation. Her body didn't want to go anywhere and that was a fact. 

Zulmira's feet touched the floor. She stood up and stretched again and went to the washroom on account of her bladder needs.  From there she came back to her room and picked up one pill and gulped it with a full glass of water. This was her routine for more than 30 years. 

She had to take her medication without food and could only eat one hour afterwards. 

The alarm clock started. Zulmira expected it to happen, and,  silenced it immediately. 

Her husband in the other room kept snoring. 

Zulmira picked up the iPad from her bed. It was next to her pillow. She had read a book online until 2 am and just left it there.

She swiped open the iPad and touched the screen icon for weather.

" Again minus 20 celcius!  No! " she complained and a sigh of frustration came out of her chest. 

She went to the bedroom window and looked outside. A white fluffy sheet covered the neighbourhood. The sheet was 40cm thick. With so many snow storms and no low temperatures to melt the snow, the accumulation was huge. The backyard looked like a pool of snow. 

" One of these days I'm going to plunge into it. Maybe next time Alex is here for the weekend! It will be fun! “ she smiled with the images in her heart. 

Zulmira loved to play with her grandchildren. As a mother, she did that too. She participated in her son's games and encouraged them to play outside to experience the surroundings and let their imagination lead the play.

She would love to do that with her grandchildren more often. Life was complicated.  Distances were a fact of day-to-day life. They lived in different cities. 

Zulmira's eyes gazed at the sky. It was light blue with a few clouds to the west of her.

She moved from the bedroom to the office. The room faced the street. She looked outside. The street was covered with snow. The driveway too, but today she didn't need to shovel. She could drive out without having to brake her back to start the day.

"How many more years will I be able to endure the extreme winters and the commute to my work?  I like my work, and to think I may have to change it due to the commute !!! I don't want to think about it now. Let’s move your lazy booty  Zulmira. You are too slow this morning! " 

Zulmira had this tendency to talk to herself since she was a little girl. It was a way to make her make decisions and move on with her day. 

She walked to her husband's bedroom. 

"Manel, time to wake up darling! "  she gave him a kiss on the forehead. 

" What time is it? " asked Manel with his eyes still shut and a sleepy voice.

" It’s a good time to wake up to a lovely winter day. No snow to shovel so far! " Zulmira shouted happily while entering the shower. She smiled while the warm water hit her skin.  A good warm shower was the best thing to wake her bones in the morning. 

VS

Smile 

" It’s a good time to wake up to a lovely winter day. No snow to shovel so far! " Zulmira announced happy while entering the shoiled while the warm water hit her skin.  A good warm shower was the best thing to wake her bones and make them work for her nicely the entire day. " good time to wake up to a lovely winter day. No snow to shovel so far! " Zulmira replied Preparing to enter the shower.