Why Winter is a Good Thing--Really, I Mean It
Each winter
when the first snowflakes fall, I rush to the window and “Oooh” and “Aaah” in
delight. Around here that usually happens in late October or early November.
Fast forward three months, and snowstorms bring an entirely different response,
especially after a mid-winter thaw has brought false hopes of spring. This
morning I woke up to a world covered in a fresh layer of white, with snowflakes
still falling. My reaction wasn’t one you’d call delight. My exact words were,
“Oh crap.”
To help
me get my attitude adjusted, I’m spending the day thinking of all the reasons a
long, cold winter is a good thing. I’ve posted some of these individually
before, but today I’m pulling them all together into one big pep talk. Here’s
what I’ve come up with so far:
1. Snow provides
water for next summer’s yards, gardens, and crops. In an area which has been
plagued by drought, lots of snow is a good thing. Really. I’ve been telling
myself this since Christmas.
3. Cold weather kills
insects. Take your pick--cold winters or roaches, it’s one or the other.
4. Everything looks
beautiful covered in a fresh layer of snow. The snow that was left before last
night’s storm had become dirty and gray. The new snowfall brightened it up
again. Of course at this point I would prefer no snow, but if I’ve got to have
snow, I guess I’d prefer pretty white snow to ugly gray snow.
6. Boots. You can
only wear boots when it’s cold, or at least cool. You might get away with wearing
boots in September, but doing so in July is just wrong.
7. Last but
not least, the cold and snow keep Californians away. This is one of those jokes
that is funny only because it’s true. I had a new neighbor once who had lived
her whole life up until then in warm climates. Our first snowfall that year was
just a skiff of snow which left only a dusting of snow on the roads. I ran into
my neighbor in town that day. She told me how frightened she had been to drive
on those “slick roads.” I thought, “Oh dear, you aren’t going to make it here.”
Sure enough, after her first winter here, she moved back to a warmer climate.
So
there you have it, seven reasons winter is a good thing. I will keep repeating
them over and over to myself, because even though I came up with them, I’m not
entirely convinced myself. I might have believed them in November, but now it
is February, and I just want some warm sunshine and a patch of green grass.
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