But some of us still hold out hope that the months between fall and spring aren't just placeholders, that they should and will come with a personality all their own (one day). And so when, even in the first week of March, forecasters nationwide predicted epic snowfall worthy of snarky nicknames (e.g., #snowquestration), while we outwardly tempered our expectations, inside we were praying like Bart Simpson getting an F.

Life isn't like The Simpsons, though. Forecasts of "5-10 inches, we promise!" quickly devolved into, "You'll still get your snow today; just a little bit longer now." And that soon dissolved into "Well, maybe next year."

In the end, we're left with some pretty familiar slushy murk. But on this murky day, I found something beautiful: My Heart with You, by The Rescues. It won't bring snow, but it makes being only symbolically trapped inside a bit better.

Today is a moment for us. I can't promise to solve our problems, or to change our fortunes. But today is the first in too long a time that I'll have fought to protect what matters to us. It's a step worth taking, no matter what follows. I understand that now.

And though I am still, as I too often have been these last few years, weeks behind my personal inbox, I'm thankful that inboxes don't have expiration dates. On January 30, a great friend recommended Joe Pug's The Great Despiser. But hearing it today has been a perfectly timed first impression.

Hey, little brother,
did you hear I made it back to town?
I'm getting sober -
there's some things I gotta figure out.
I saw the station and the lot we used to run around.
I could've sworn that there were things I used to care about.

It's immediately infatuating. To listen to the whole track, the video's below.

And at least for now, you can (legally) download the track for free.