S.A.D.

Oh these gray, yucky winter days! I wish they'd go away. I wish they'd go away because they are making me sad. Not only are they making me sad, I'm feeling like I'm suffering from S.A.D. (Seasonal Affective Disorder). Seasonal Affective Disorder is a real malady that affects many people during the dreary winter months. It also affects people who live in places like Alaska and Antarctica where the long winter days are shrouded in darkness. These symptoms usually disappear during the Spring and Summer months as the days are filled with more sunshine.

Some of the symptoms of Seasonal Affective Disorder are:

• Less energy.
• Trouble concentrating.
• Fatigue.
• Greater appetite.
• Increased desire to be alone.
• Greater need for sleep.
• Weight gain

For the past week, it's been rainy and foggy here. It's almost as if a cloud sat down right on top of my house and hovered there all week. Such a heavy gray feeling hung low over us and I can only describe it as "DAMP GRAY". Damp gray feels like sadness, worry, and despair. Damp gray is a heavy, dreary experience like no other. Every morning it seemed to close in a little tighter. I dreaded facing it each day. Every morning, I would go about the task of trying to shake off those thoughts because I knew that the sunshine was just around the corner hidden by the mist.

But is it gray or grey? I wasn't quite sure so I looked it. It seems both are correct. There are two acceptable spellings. Gray is used primarily in the United States and other areas that use US English. Grey is used in Great Britain and areas that use UK English. So there.

Gray is an ugly color to me most of the time, but I decided to try and think of some grays that are more pleasant and I was able to come up with a list of 15. I tried to come up with 50, like the movie (which I have never seen and don't wish to see!), but all I could manage was 15.

Here's my list:

1.   Pewter gray - a strong and distinguished, regal sort of color

2.   Soft gray - a gentle color that reminds me of one of my sweet kitties from childhood

3.   Silver gray - the color of my husband's hair, the color of wisdom

4.   Puffy gray - the gentle color on the underside of clouds, telling me rain is coming

5.   Coarse gray - the color of my late Father in Law's bushy eyebrows

6.   Pearl gray - the iridescent color sea shells along the banks of Cumberland Island

7.   Wool gray - the color of a gray skirt that I had in high school. It was so itchy and I hated it

8.   Putty gray - the color of sealing putty used in home repairs

9.   Gentle gray - a warm eye color that some people possess indicating intelligence

10.  Silver gray - the elegant look of shiny gray ribbon wrapped around a gift and then tied into a bow

11.  Lacquer gray - the color of expensive cars

12.  Lavender gray - the color of the lovely satin dresses

13.  Dove gray -the color of beautiful mourning doves, so soft and gentle

14.  Grayish blue - the color of my husband's eyes on days when he wears a blue shirt

15.  Dapple gray -the majestic color of horses, so regal and strong

Now that I've listed these various shades of gray, I don't feel quite as sad any longer. Whew! And that reminds me, it's time to color my hair. It's starting to get quite gray, grey, GRAY around the edges!

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