What the heck Minnesota? Really? Why do I live in this state?! I’m not sure some of my friends from southern locations can fully appreciate what Minnesotans go through. A month ago we were having a beautiful fall. The temps still reached the 50’s and even a couple of days in the 60’s. We all knew winter was coming, it is inevitable. But we blissfully went about our lives pretending that maybe this would be one of those freak years where we got a reprieve from the bitterness for a while longer.
Then December rolled around. The weird thing, as I see it, is that Minnesota didn’t warm us up to the idea that we live in hell. It just drop kicked us into late January after Indian summer. Now that just doesn’t seem fair. Ambient (and I only know that word because of this damn cold) temps aren’t making it out of the single digits and windchills are stuck in the negative, up to -30 some mornings. My students haven’t been outside for recess in days and I’m sick of the boots and wet feet smell in the hallway. Another round of snow (it snowed every day last week) is set to hit us Friday and last into Saturday. Another 6 - 9 inches are expected Friday. I’m sure that we need it because the 8-12 we got last weekend wasn’t enough of a snow pack for good old Santa to land his sleigh.
BUT… I’m always working on seeing the positive side, so I’m going to play a little game called “finding the good”.
The bad: We are getting more snow tomorrow and into the weekend. The good: It’s pretty?
The bad: The wind chills are in the double digits below zero. The good: Shivering burns calories.
The bad: It easily takes 10 minutes just to get extra gear on to walk from the house to my car INSIDE the garage. The good: I discovered a scarf I forgot I had.
The bad: Everything freezes. Everything. Water bottles, water buckets at the barn, snot, eyelashes, breath… The good: Everything freezes. Even dog poop - easier to pick up and doesn’t smell.
The bad: Driving in crappy weather conditions is now the norm. Ice, blowing, drifting, etc… The good: It’s pretty?
The bad: Chapped lips, chapped hands, chapped face, wind burn. The good: I now smell like scented lotion and chapstick 24/7.
The bad: I’m so cold all the time that I constantly have to be wrapped in a blanket. Even at work. The good: I’m getting plenty of use of all the blankets we own that don’t get used in the summer.
The bad: It’s too cold to ride. The good: The horses aren’t wasting calories they need to stay warm.
I know there are positives to winter. My favorite holiday of all time is in winter, and snow does make the Christmas lights sparkle. Some people love snow sports however, my favorite snow sport is racing to get inside as soon as possible. There is an excuse to drink hot chocolate. Movies and book nights are a lot easier to explain and who doesn’t love snuggling under a quilt? But me, not being a big fan of this fourth Minnesota season, I’m counting the days until spring.
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