Frühjahrsmüdigkeit or Frühlingsmüdigkeit no get up and go.

Spring fatigue.
Another rainy overcast afternoon and I am fighting the temptation to just go back to bed and sleep. I battle this most of the day, I am constantly tired, yawning, no desire to do anything, einfach keine Lust.

Lucky for me the Germans have a name for my laziness. They can explain it to you and give you advice on how to fight it. It is Frühlingsmüdigkeit and today is the first day of it and it runs till mid April. I must've had an early start since I have been schlepping myself around for weeks, but NOW I HAVE an EXCUSE, an easy way out, a German made clarification that I can milk till mid April at least.

There could be some truth to this phenomenum, I have noticed for years that I am less energetic this time of year. Maybe the Germans are onto something or maybe it is simply Quatsch, I do not know, but I'm annoyingly aware that people here have a totally different relationship with weather than Canadians do.

Weather is not used as a means of small talk, they don't do small talk, that is a waste of time. Weather is something that affects you. Germans like to blame the weather for almost anything that ails them and it is not unusual to carefully monitor the Biowetter/weather. Have a headache, it's the weather, feel tired, it's the weather, joints ache, it's the weather, breathing problems, heart problems, it's the weather, scars sore or itch, it's the weather, feel komisch in any form, especially komisch, it's the weather.

I don't deny weather affecting some ailments and it certainly affects your mood, it can lift your spirits or bring you down. Aber dieses Wetter thing just goes too far, I can be having my hippy hippy shakes or be off balance and I'll be told "es liegt am Wetter". This phrase is even uttered by trained professionals like physiotherapists. NO! It is not the weather, I want to yell, but there is no point, it would sound like I am in denial. After all no harm done, weather or not, I am treated just the same.

The weather can be a convenient friend. I have become wise to using das Wetter as an alibi, when my mother in law complains about " diese Komisches Wetter", I translate that into meaning, " I have overexerted myself or I have not taken my meds".

Perhaps the Brits adopted the term "feeling under the weather" from the Germans, but then again a German's ailments are much too ernst for simply feeling under the weather.
Oh and don't confuse Frühlingsmüdigkeit with Spring fever. Isn't the latter something positive? Does it not bring on an extra bounce in your step, a need to be outside more, along with a good feeling of lightheadedness?
Bring it on an attack of Spring fever, I'll trade it for my Frühlingsmüdigkeit.
Happy Spring!