What to do when other people have started their ski season…..

…..And you haven’t.

Tough, isn’t it?  Pictures of happy people skiing are starting to appear on the internet, and there’s no snow within 300 miles of your house. Yes, it’s depressing.

What do you do? How do you handle the heartbreak?

Well, short of booking a flight to Colorado or Utah or wherever the resorts are open, here are some ways for you to cope:

• Tell yourself the delay gives you more of a chance to get in shape. Work out like a fiend. Run. Bike. Lift weights. No early season soreness for you! Feel superior in your fitness.
• Try on all your ski gear. Model before the mirror. Ask your wife/husband/significant other how you look. Don’t believe them when they say you look great. Decide you just have to have a new jacket/fleece/pair of ski pants. Start making the rounds at your local ski shops. Look for something on clearance, but when there’s nothing you like in your size, end up buying something that isn’t on sale. Seethe, but look great doing it.
• Visit your skis in the attic. Caress them. Whisper sweet nothings. Tell them all the wonderful things you’ll be doing together in the months ahead. If you listen hard enough, you might hear them answer back. Worry if you do.
• Go through your financial statements to see if you can afford that big ski trip this year. Think how maybe you shouldn’t put it off. What if you’re hit by a truck? Shouldn’t you live for today? On the other hand, what about saving for your retirement or your kid’s college? Feel conflicted. Visit all the travel sites on line and see if you can get really a good deal. Convince yourself you will. Keep looking.
• Clean out your boot bag from last year. Find dirty tissues. Unwashed base layers. One unmatched mitten. A sock with a hole in it. Also that boot heater you were looking for (YES!) and five dollars in change. Put the change in the jar you use to fund ski trips. Feel rich.
• Put your snow tires on. If you don’t have any, visit your tire store. Despair over how much they cost, but realize your safety — and the safety of your family — depend on them. Bite the bullet and buy them.

All this should keep you pretty busy. Believe me, ski season will be here soon, and before you know it, you’ll be posting your own ski pictures on the internet and bragging about your exploits in online ski forums, like TheSkiDiva.com.

Hang in there. You’ll make it.