Ginny was irritated. Another day of single digit temperatures. She had the worst case of cabin fever ever - even if her "cabin" was a perfectly respectable $300,000 home in a lovely suburb in Madison, Wisconsin.

Was there no end in sight? A string of frigid temperatures - the other day, the wind chill was negative thirty - and a brand new snow storm every few days, rendering driving to the store a truly dangerous undertaking. That had been their winter so far. And it was only February third!

Since Ginny had a very real phobia about driving on snowy roads, she didn't even venture out to the local Walmart. She let her husband John pick up whatever was needed, so she didn't have to risk dying in a terrible collision when their van inevitably slid into the oncoming lane of traffic.

The groundhog claimed there would be six more weeks of winter. This year, Ginny was sure he was correct, even though she never quite understood how he came to that conclusion simply by seeing his shadow.

"Cut me up an avocado!" Ginny's daughter Amelia ordered, out in the kitchen.

"Okay," Amelia's husband Ed complied.

Amelia and Ed lived with Ginny and her husband, since they foolishly got married at the ripe old age of eighteen, neither one of them having a full time job. Amelia was always making elaborate healthy salads out in the kitchen, ordering Ed around, treating him like her own personal "sous chef." Then she made Ed wash all the dishes. It sort of made Ginny sick.

How could I have raised such a ball buster of a daughter? Ginny often wondered. I'm certainly not that way.

Ginny sat on the couch, grimacing, as Fox News's Gretchen Carlson grilled some poor guest about Obama Care...again. That's all they talked about on Fox News lately. And Fox News was the ONLY channel John allowed on the TV during the day.

"Why does it have to be on non-stop?" Ginny always complained.

"Because I need to keep abreast of what's going on with the economy!" John always replied.

Yes, John worked from home. He did drafting from the computer on the table, right in the middle of the kitchen.

"He promised us if we like our doctor, we can keep our doctor!" Gretchen Carlson declared from the TV.

"This architect's an asshole!" John boomed from his "work table." He was on the phone with one of his clients.

"You're cutting that up the wrong way, Ed!" Amelia criticized, out in the kitchen.

"Oh...sorry..." Ed mumbled.

I have to get out of here before my family drives me insane! Ginny thought.

Ginny checked her cell phone. The temperature had crept out of the single digits and now read a balmy fourteen degrees.

"I'm going for a walk!" she announced.

"Isn't it too cold?" Amelia asked.

"Yea, but that's okay," Ginny told her. "It'll just be a little walk. A little walk is better than no walk, right?"

"I miss New York," Amelia sighed.

"Yea..." Ed agreed.

"Hey, a little respect here, I was ON THE PHONE!" John bellowed from the kitchen table, which was piled up with work papers and bills and tools and sawdust from one of John's ongoing construction projects.

"So-rrry!" Amelia said, not sounding sorry at all. "This is a KITCHEN, Daddy! Not an office!"

"Okay, so maybe I'll just stop working so you can have your kitchen, and we won't pay the mortgage, and maybe we'll join a commune and open up an organic salad stand...."

"Oh, get me out of here!" Ginny cried, jumping off the couch, leaving Gretchen Carlson and her hatred of Obama Care along with Amelia and her husband's butting heads and Ed's subservient ways behind.

"Where are you going?" her husband inquired.

"FOR A WALK!" Ginny screeched.

"Have fun freezing your ass off!" John told her, sarcastically.

And then he added under his breath, "Although maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea, come to think of it."

"I heard that!" Ginny said.

"Just teasing!" John claimed.

Yea, right! Ginny thought. But she didn't say it out loud. It wasn't worth it. She just wanted to get out of there. Get away from THEM. She was so sick and tired of being with her family every single second. Even getting frost-bite seemed more appealing.

Ginny grabbed her long coat with the fur collar out of the hall closet. Then she grabbed the extra thick burnt orange wool hat, along with its matching scarf and mittens. John had given her the entire ensemble for Christmas.... Christmas, which seemed like a century ago.

Lastly, she pulled on her expensive fur trimmed boots from Neiman Marcus.

I'm outta here! Ginny thought as she checked her front pocket for keys and her brand new tube of Burt's Bees lip gloss. Then she marched purposely out the front door, slamming it extra hard behind her, for good measure.

This weather doesn't feel so bad! Ginny thought, as she strolled down the packed snow driveway. I'm so glad I decided to do this!

However, as she walked down Highlander Avenue, she was hit with a stinging wind that made her cheeks feel raw. Ginny pulled her burnt orange scarf up over her mouth and nose, breathing in the new smell of the expensive wool scarf. The cold air was making her eyes hurt.

I wonder if you can get frost-bite in your eyeballs? Ginny wondered idly. I never had to worry about this sort of thing in New York... New York, which also seemed a century ago. Even though she'd only lived in Wisconsin for five weeks.

An older man was out shoveling his driveway, two houses down.

Yay, another human being! Ginny thought. Someone else to talk to besides my family!

People always said that folks in the midwest were so much nicer. Not like in New York, where everyone is suspicious of everyone else.

The man looked like a cliche of someone from the midwest. He was wearing one of those black and red plaid quilted jackets that looked more like a shirt, and a hat with fur and earflaps.

Ginny had to admit, the man looked a bit grumpy.

He probably just needs a cheery hello from the cute and stylish woman who just moved here from New York! she told herself.

In preparation, Ginny pulled the orange scarf down off her face, allowing her skin to be exposed to the biting cold wind. Now she was directly across the street from the man, who was just standing there scowling at her while wielding a bright yellow shovel.

First, Ginny dazzled the man with a huge happy grin. No response.

Then she added a cheerful, "Hello!"

Still no response.

The man just stared at Ginny, like he was looking right through her. Like she was invisible!

Ginny felt embarrassed.

What the hell? she thought, pulling her scarf back up over her face, and quickly marching off down the street.

So much for friendly midwesterners!

Then Ginny tried to rationalize what happened.

Maybe he's deaf... she thought. But no...he was looking right at me!

Maybe he's just having a really bad day....

But still...how can you not say a simple "hi" to a new neighbor? What kind of person would just completely ignore another person like that?

Maybe it's me! Ginny thought, in horror. This hat looks stupid! He thinks I'm an Eastern snob!

Ginny felt her confidence crumbling. She turned onto Candlepin Avenue and was almost attacked by a small dog that came roaring out of someone's driveway, growling.

The owner of the dog, an unpleasant looking woman with a blonde pony tail and a dark blue ski-jacket, came rushing down the driveway. She grabbed the dog, tossing Ginny a dirty look.

"I guess he's tired of winter, too!" Ginny offered, weakly.

"Hrrrmmmph!" was all the woman said.

What is wrong with this neighborhood? Ginny wondered, feeling horrible. Like her daughter, she suddenly missed New York, as well. Plus, she felt like the wind was cutting right through her scarf.

I wonder if you can get frostbite through a wool scarf? Ginny thought.

She didn't travel far, before turning back. Ginny solemnly marched back up Highlander Avenue, deliberately ignoring Mr. Cranky Neighbor, who was still out there scowling with his yellow shovel.

"That was quick!" John said, when Ginny whooshed in the front door, bringing a blast of frigid air with her.

"Yea....well....the wind made it really unbearable," Ginny reported. "I might have gone further, if it hadn't been for the wind."

Ginny took off her hat and gloves and unwrapped her scarf. Then she hung her coat up in the closet, feeling her face blissfully thawing out in the warm cozy house. John had stopped working for the time being, and was on the couch searching for a movie.

"Hey, do you want to watch this with me?" he asked Ginny.

"What is it?" Ginny asked, taking a seat on the couch next to her husband.

"We Bought A Zoo," John said, relating the name of a Matt Damon movie Ginny had been curious about.

"Sure," Ginny said, feeling her bad mood starting to lift.

"Here Mommy, we made this for you!" Amelia said, plopping a fresh green salad adorned with grape tomatoes, almonds, dried cranberries, whole grain croutons, and avocado slices in front of her.

"Thank you, Amelia!" Ginny said.

The salad did look good, Ginny had to admit.

"You too, Ed!" Ginny called out to the kitchen, where Ed was washing the dishes.

"Amelia, why don't you go help Ed with the dishes?" Ginny asked.

"I think that's a great idea!" John agreed.

"Okay..." Amelia said, heading out into the kitchen.

Ginny gave John a smile as thanks for agreeing with her. The movie was beginning. It looked good already! Of course, anything with Matt Damon looked good. Ginny took a bite of her salad. Delicious! She put her feet up on the couch, getting comfy, as furious snow flurries started up again outside.

Maybe, thought Ginny, just maybe....being stuck inside with your family isn't the worst thing in the world, after all.