Winter blahs, cabin fever, vitamin D deficiency, and wind chill index are all negative terms used for winter. In Minnesota we take winter to a new level by throwing out terms like Winter Carnival, Ice Palace and ice sculptures. In this land of the Norsemen, our hearty people cut a hole in the ice and either jump into it after sitting in a sauna, or sit next to it with a fishing pole waiting for dinner.  If you are sporting a beard, count on having icicles hanging on your chin. You may not even need a beard.

 I guess weather is all in how we look at it. When you live up north you find ways of enjoying it, such as turning your backyard into a hockey rink; sledding down a steep hill; blowing bubbles into the polar vortex; or curling up with a good book. When you’re an octogenarian, your bones creak, you discover new aches and pains, and you stay glued to a chair during your waking hours. If you go crazy sitting in that chair, you think of something to do besides watching TV. You may take up a new hobby – like painting, knitting, writing, whatever keeps your mind alive. Once that goes, it’s “curtains,” for most of us. I love the commercial with the three elderly women sledding down the hill like little children. I just wonder how they get back up that hill.

This winter, we’ve been blessed with fairly warm temperatures and very little snow, but it’s only the second week in January, so we know it’s an unusual year. Just think! In a few months we’ll be complaining about the rain or the water leaking in from the roof which carried too much snow. God gives us our environment as a blessing. Whether we are happy with it has nothing to do with the gift.  It seems we can always find the bad in any situation but remember – there are only two more months until spring.

Stay warm, my friends.