It was the kind of wind that loosens the wooden siding and shakes the glass windows. When I emerged from my apartment-turned-fortress the next day, untethered furniture and empty pots had been strewn across the deck.
The yard looked like it had been ransacked and in the street, tree debris was scattered like petals dropped on a red carpet.
Last week’s wind storm descended on our region suddenly and violently. One minute it was cold and calm, the next it was bitter and blustery. I drove home that night through a world of swirling snow and fell asleep hoping the apartment would withstand the buffeting.
I’m sure a lot of people were thinking the same thing. The wind storm felt like the last grasp of a particularly chilly February — and the exclaimation point of an era better left in the past. It’s been a cold season, and not just in terms of temperature.
Now in March, Massachusetts has been in one state of pandemic-induced lockdown or another for about a year. And we’ll continue to distance from one another for the time being.
But the wind feels like it’s subsiding. Slowly, cautiously, society seems to be returning to a more normal pace. As vaccination rates increase, gathering limits are being lifted.
Likewise, temperatures are projected to reach into the 60s this week. This spring, the first day of which will come at the end of the month, will hopefully bring with it ever-brighter days along with the warm weather.
But as the recent storm made it clear, winter isn’t over yet. Neither is the pandemic. So in the meantime, we might as well make the best of it — whether that’s by connecting with a loved one via Zoom or escaping into a favorite section of woods for a solo hike through these waning days of winter.
Andy Castillo can be reached at acastillo@recorder.com.