Winter solstice is upon us!

Today, December 22, is the winter solstice, the first official day of winter—or as I like to think of it, the shortest day of the year!

You'd think that the last Friday before Christmas would be the longest day of the year, what with everyone cramming in their last-minute shopping, or heading out to the airports or train stations for trips to St. Elsewhere—or worse yet, getting into the car and formally greeting the end-all/be-all of gridlock holiday traffic mixed in with rush hour and rainy weather. So with all this in mind, one would think that today would be the longest day of the year.

But in the geological sense, today is the shortest, because the tilt of the Earth on this solstice affords us the least amount of sunlight during the day. So that means that, after today, we gain 2 additional minutes of sunlight each day! And for as much as I love spring and summer, I relish the later dusks and earlier sunrises with such pleasure. So on this first official day of winter, I say . . . bring on spring!!!