Winter hath come to the midwest

Or more accurately, the snow has begun. It started Saturday when every weather report and scrolling news bar highlighted the Winter Weather Advisory!! If I hadn't spent almost three decades in the Midwest I would of thought we were on the verge of the apocalypse. I did manage to raise my blinds at one point around 2 in the afternoon and it seemed quite lovely from my third story apartment. It was not doomsday at all, but that may have something to do with my location of delightfully planted on my couch, under my quilt and with my x-box controller firmly lodged in my hand as I played Gladius all afternoon.
Then came Tuesday with a forecast of a 24 hour snow storm leaving 4-6 inches in its wake. Again there was a forecasted bleak rush hour home, and again I found my trek to be not that bad. I woke up Wednesday to my first real snow of the season.
Wednesday at 7 am the world was still glistening. Most of the sidewalks hadn't been cleared yet, but the bonus of Chicago's usually annoying one way system is it allows you to walk down the center of a road to avoid snow clogged walkways. The world around me was white and mysteriously silent as snow seems to dampen sound, and my hat was only slightly wet as I trudged onto the El at 7:15.
By noon when I had to forage out for lunch, the snow was still coming. Whipping furiously through downtown's pathways my black wool coat was sufficiently white by the time I got back with my take out from two blocks away.
But by 2:00 pm my Google homepage told me the snow had stopped and my quick afternoon break confirmed that the sun truly was shining, though not for long as sunset today was 4:20 pm.
5:30 rolled around and I got off the El for my 4 block trek home. Now the sidewalks that had never been shoveled were packed and uneven. The ones that had at least been cleared at one point had a slushy layer from the hours after the morning shoveler had come through. Main roadways were clear, but the side streets were still a mess. Everything had a layer of gray over it and ominous puddles lurked at every corner. With the sun gone and the wind picking up my face was frozen within moments and even the parts of me covered by clothing were numb within two blocks. I am officially done with winter.