Snow

The weather is apparently a pretty big deal.


Snowfall often makes or breaks someone's day. For many, it means their plans are officially ruined, or their schedule for the next 24 hours is replaced with "playing outside." There's not a lot of middle ground - and how can there be? Every news station sends their field reporters to where the storm is going the hardest. Forget about international affairs and the state of the country... We have snow to worry about, guys. It's no wonder people are so opinionated about snow on the ground, someone mentions snow more times than we inhale in a day. But still, there's just a little too much ado about nothing.


I guess it bothers me because of how predictable this time of year is. It's the middle of winter. There will be one or two major storms every year, I can almost guarantee that. Yes, we need to keep up with the weather channel to make sure we know when the storm is on its way. But as soon as wind is caught of a blizzard thats on the way, the human race enters panic mode. People rush to the grocery store and stock up on a week's worth of food. We take weeks off of work because we won't make it out of the driveway. Meanwhile, news stations are rehashing the same scripts on TV as they do every year: "Major interstate highway is backed up, X number of snow plows are working through the night to keep the roads as safe as possible, watch out for ice because we need to remind you that there's ice, we will keep you posted on the rate of snowfall throughout the day."


Come on. I think we've all lived through enough winters to know the drill. It's like you go camping for the 20th time, and your dad, once again, reminds you to put out the fire before you go to sleep. Well, yeah. That's kind of how I've been doing it my whole life, thanks. It's important to do, sure, but I think everything is accounted for. Yes, we know there's snow on the ground. No, I wasn't planning on driving as fast as normal.


People groan all the time about being inconvenienced by the snow. We talk about how long it took us to shovel the sidewalk, how much food we had to buy, and how mad we are about being stuck inside. Why do we all focus on the negative? Is snow as bad at it is because of what people made of it? Let's talk about the fun parts of snow instead. "I got to go outside and watch the snow fall, and had hot chocolate when I was done." "I had a huge snowball fight with my friends, and it was a blast." More of that, please and thank you.


I ran around with my dog in the snow today, and we both loved it. I hope you are enjoying the snow as well. Everything is what you make of it - so why not make a snowman?