"No soup for you!" We've been living through a (bad) "Seinfeld" episode for nearly a year. Some have had it far worse than others. But we've all gotten an extra serving of delayed gratification. "When can I hug my grandparents?" "When can we safely plan a trip?" "Grandpa, what's a vacation?"

Which got me thinking about Minnesota's robust winters and our recent brush with Siberia. If every day was 70 and sunny would we start to normalize it — expect it? Do residents of San Diego or Honolulu get bored with their (perfect) weather? I doubt we'll be bored anytime soon. Even so, 40s brought out a flurry of T-shirt sightings. Awesome.

There is little doubt March will start out milder than average. Models predict a few 40s into next week; NOAA's GFS hints at 50s by the second week of March. Until we melt more snow, that may be overly optimistic.

No subzero blasts or menacing storms are imminent, just a slow-motion thaw in the days to come. Is spring right around the corner? It's a big corner.