The subzero week ahead
Whether we love or hate the change of seasons, it is here. It is winter in the suburbs
There are some who enjoy the burn of winter, as "A Game of Thrones" author George R.R. Martin so beautifully described it.
"Oh, I could never live in the Sun Belt." those people say. "I would miss the change of seasons."
In the apt words of the Beatles, yeah, yeah, yeah.
There are those of us who would rather bask in short sleeves under sunny skies and witness, if we must, some of those changes through postcards, television newscasts or video clips shared on Instagram.
Yes, we are hardy Midwesterners, but as we begin a week of daily flirtations with subzero temperatures, must we be reminded so often of our hardiness? Could we not grow rugged some other way, say perhaps, by an occasional trip to the gym (if morning strolls to the bakery are not good enough)?
If it sounds like we are whining today, please note we just got in from clearing the drive. It was, as they say, heart attack snow. Good for making snowmen, but not for redistribution of winter wealth. And that sound we heard as we finished? The municipal plow coming back around. Without protest, we stood in wistful surrender to watch the slush fill the end of the driveway again.
All this before the frigid temperatures arrived.
"Melancholy were the sounds on a winter's night," novelist Virginia Woolf wrote.
It is good to remind ourselves at cynical times like this that we are indeed those Midwesterners we referenced, blessed products of Chicago's suburbs, and this is January -- much like January was last year and a decade ago and decades before that, much like January will be a year from now and a decade after that.
On Friday, in this space, we passed along cautionary reminders of winter weather advice and it is important to heed those suggestions. The weather we confront this week can be dangerous.
But we all have gotten through weather like this before. And with common sense, we will get through it again.
It is winter in Chicago's suburbs.
As with anything else in life, our attitude determines our outcome. We actually can enjoy this week if our mood is set to embrace the experience. Challenge, after all, is one of life's most meaningful gifts.
And so, with the driveway cleared, we settle in with a proverbial glass half full.
"Winter," British poet Edit Sitwell wrote, "is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and a talk beside the fire. It is the time for home."