April: The Most Disappointing Month

Is April the worst month of the year?

Here in the D.C. area it just could be. Sure, the weather is colder and the days are shorter in December, January and February, but that's to be expected. And who knows, during winter we might just get a big snowstorm (didn't happen this year, though) for a change of pace.

March is pretty bad, too, but at least we have March Madness.

But April? According to the meteorologists, the average high temperature this time of year is around 65 degrees. Yet so often--like today--it seems to we WELL below that. April is just plain disappointing. We want it to be warm and sunny, but it's often chilly and damp.

Despite the old saying about April showers, it turns out that the average April in these parts has less precipitation than either March or May. Perhaps that's just because it doesn't rain all that hard--instead, we get days of cool, misty, drizzly, dank Seattle-winter-like weather, perfect for Starbucks, but not much else.

Another problem with April is that we start to have numerous outdoor activities scheduled. It's one thing to sit in a nice warm basketball gym in February; quite another to spend two hours at the soccer pitch, or the baseball field, on a chilly April afternoon or evening.

It's also the point at which we desperately want a change of pace in our clothing. The sun shines and bit and you go out in your golf shirt, but darned if it's just a bit too cool on your pale white skin.

And then there's the allergies. Pollen everywhere! And all of a sudden, the grass needs to be mowed every week.

Not to mention taxes.

Ok, but April doesn't totally suck. The Masters is this weekend. The days are noticeably longer. Flowers add much-needed color to a dreary landscape. Birds flit about (or attack our house, as the case may be). Our ant friends invade the kitchen, the surest sign that Spring is really here. And, of course, the golf clubs come out of the basement and into the car trunk for regular use.

April brings promise. But it's still a disappointing month. (We'll take its autumn counterpart, October, anytime!)