April really is the cruelest month

Weather isn't the only issue.

Blossoms after an ice storm.
(Image credit: Betty LaRue/Alamy Stock Photo)

"April is the cruellest month," wrote T.S. Eliot in his poem "The Waste Land," and I'm inclined to agree with him. Particularly this April, the fourth month of 2018, a year that's already been kind of a doozy (if you don't know what I'm talking about, just read the news — or actually maybe don't). It seems like every dash of something good, every positive step we take — an increased infusion of sun biting into the darkness that's held us for so long — is followed by yet another nor'easter.

Yes, I'm being figurative. But also quite literal. We've been slogging along, still in our heavy coats and hats, and then there's a beautiful surprise sunshiny day we can revel in, letting ourselves believe for a moment that winter is finally over. We toss on a light jacket or maybe even dare to emerge in our short sleeves, letting the crisp (but not too crisp) air touch our bare skin — but, oh, hell no, says winter, slapping us the very next day with something like snow, or endless dreary rain, or just a nasty attitude.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Jen Doll

Jen Doll is the author of the memoir Save the Date: The Occasional Mortifications of a Serial Wedding Guest. She's also the managing editor for Mental Floss magazine and has written for The Atlantic, Esquire, Glamour, Marie Claire, The Hairpin, New York magazine, The New Republic, The New York Times Book Review The Village Voice, and other publications.