Cold (11/17/2008)
Each year in the fall in Michigan, especially once it gets around to November, it gets cold. Winter is coming. It's inevitable. It has come every year for as long as I have been alive and, I suspect, for a very long time before my birth. In fact, knowing that our state and Great Lakes were carved out by glaciers, I'd venture a guess that it has been cold in Michigan a much greater amount of time than it has been warm.
Michigan is in what is called a temperate zone—great for farming; a nice balance of cold and hot, dry and humid; and the joys of four distinct seasons. It's not in the tropics where it is hot and humid most of the year. It is not in the polar regions where spring and summer are but a quick-passing fancy. We get the best of everything—lovely springs full of flowers, summers that drive us to the many beaches in the state, autumns full of breathtaking colors and crisp blue skies, and winters of generally-reliable snow cover (though in the middle of the state we sadly have less of it than the areas closer to the Great Lakes).
And around this time of year you get to see who the true Michiganders are. Because it is around this time of year that people start the well-practiced pastime of complaining about the weather. While I was working at Beaner's today (I'm not a barista, I was just in a Beaner's/Biggby's while working) I heard many, many people deliver the standard lines about the weather.
"Ugh, it's so cold outside!"
"I can't believe it snowed already!"
"I hate this cold weather!"
"It's awful out there!"
etc.
I'd like to point out to these people several little pieces of information:
1.) It always snows in November. Why are you surprised?
2.) It was in the low to mid 30s today. That is not cold. Especially not for November.
3.) The fall has lasted much longer than usual, including a week of gorgeous Indian summer. So what do we have to complain about? It was warmer longer than usual this year!
4.) You live a mere two and a half hours away from the line that marks 45 degrees latitude, the halfway point between the equator and the north pole. Do you really expect summer to last indefinitely?
5.) As Garrison Keillor has said, "Winter is not a personal experience." Everyone around you is experiencing the same temperature you are. Complaining about it is silly when everyone else is as cold as you are.
6.) Complaining about cold does not make you warmer.
Why not focus on all the great things about this time of year? We had a Halloween where no one had to cover up their costumes with coats this year! We gave out candy sitting outside on a bench enjoying the warm night. Thanksgiving is coming, when we can get together with family and enjoy a great meal together. Would any of you really want it to be hot at Thanksgiving? Half the warm feeling you get at this holiday is from the feeling that you are snug inside while a storm rages outside. Christmas is coming and everyone wants snow on Christmas (and before Christmas to put us all in the mood and make the lights and decorations prettier). There are so many things to look forward to that just wouldn't be the same without the cold.
Besides the special days, what about clothes? Aren't we all a little sick of what we were wearing this summer? I love fall and winter clothes. The comfy sweaters, interesting hats and scarves, chic boots. Warm weather clothes are usually more well-suited to a variety of body types, so we all can look a little better in warm clothes than we do in summer fashions.
How about the food? Comfort food of all kinds abounds as the year draws to a close. Cookies and pies, chili and soup, casseroles (especially if you hang around churches) and quick breads. You can't beat cold weather for great food. And drinks! Coffee, cider, hot chocolate—these all taste better in cold weather and fill our minds with memories of feeling safe and secure. How many of us as children played outside in the snow until our hands and cheeks were numb only to come inside and have a nice cup of hot chocolate and sit by the fire or the heater?
All of these wonderful times and things are amplified by the cold. They would not be so comforting, so memorable, without the cold to put them into focus.
There is so much to look forward to with joy during this time of year. Even if you have little money to spare for dinners or gifts, even if things are tough with your family, there are small joys to be had as the days grow short and the air grows crisp. Sure we don't like to scrape out cars or dig out of the house after a big snow (well, most people don't—though I actually enjoy shoveling snow). But if we didn't have winter, spring wouldn't be nearly so miraculous and welcomed.
This year, why not stop yourself when you're tempted to complain about winter and instead use that bit of time to count your blessings, thank God for all the little things he has given you in the midst of these trying times. And start looking forward to winter with a childlike anticipation of lovely snow to play in and the celebration of Christmas, when God entered our sphere as a helpless baby boy who would one day save us from our sins.
There is so much to be thankful for.
