Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Winter Weather

I'm certainly not going to write about football again, not after last night's fantasy loss and Vikings loss, I just can't do it. Plus it would probably put you all to ... zzzzzz

So instead I'm going to talk about Winter Weather (yes that deserves capitalization, but probably not capitolization). I was born in Seattle, and while it rains a lot it never really gets cold or snows unless you go up into the mountains. But, when I was 11, I moved to White Bear Lake Minnesota, and you can believe it gets very cold AND snows there, all the time (there is a reason it's not called Brown Bear Lake). Now I live in Georgia (don't ask me why), and I almost never get to enjoy cold weather.

This morning I took our dog outside to pee at 5:15. Yes, 5:15. It's just not right, I know, don't get me started. Anyway either a pipe had burst or a neighbor across the street had left their hose on, because our street was full of ice all the way down to the sewer grate. I suppose I could have gotten irritated by this, but instead I chose to relish all the things I love about cold weather:
  • I love the way your breath steams up the instant it leaves your mouth and you can play choo-choo train, even as a fully responsible, if slightly insane adult.
  • I love the way my shoes crunch against the frosted ground and the way that sound echoes in the still morning.
  • I love the way my nostrils freeze together when I breathe through my nose and despite the minor pain it makes the air feel fresh and clean and pure.
  • I love that every snowflake is utterly unique, just like the soul of every person, and when you catch one on your tongue it melts into warm comfort just like holding the hand of someone you love.
  • I love how when the winds whips uninhibited across a frozen lake it can sound like spirits wailing at the living.
  • I love how Nesta (our puppy) doesn't take 15 minutes to handle her business when she is freezing her @$$ off!
  • I love how all these southern drivers are so terrified of non-existent but highly touted black ice that they all get into the right lane, cringing in fear as I pass them in my front wheel drive Honda Civic.
  • I love how a fresh snowfall can make even the most dilapidated urban ghetto look full of innocence, peace and purity, even if only for a moment.
  • I love rockin jeans and a hoody, and how they camouflage my ample middle.
  • I love all the activities that only snow and ice can provide: Skiing, Ice-Skating, Snow-Boarding, Hockey, Sledding, Snow Ball Fights, Broom-Ball, Snow-Men, Snow-Angels, Instant Slurpies ....
  • But most of all ... I love the Silence.


Am I a sentimental fool? Sure, probably, but I'm not the least bit ashamed of who I am. Have a great Tuesday readers!

47 comments:

Candyland said...

WOW TIMMY...so lovely. You actually just described how I feel about winter. I LOVE it.

Slamdunk said...

Thanks for the laugh Matthew.

I used to have a light front wheel drive car here in the NE and never did not make it to work on time (just had to make sure that I had good tires). The black ice terror--too funny.

I also lost my fantasy football game last night and my season is over. Good thing my 4th grader won his game and advanced to the playoffs--blah now I have to listen to him for another week.

Steve MC said...

I love that every snowflake is utterly unique, just like the soul of every person, and when you catch one on your tongue it melts into warm comfort just like holding the hand of someone you love.

You just wrote my Christmas card. Seriously - that's so good that Linus should've said it.

Jessica Bell said...

I was just about to quote what Maine Character quoted. Oh my GOd, Matt! I wish we could go for coffee ;o) Oh man, no. NO! Not like that. Just to chat!!!! Seriously :o)

Jules Ausborn said...

I love winter. Love winter. This was a fabulous post!

Sorry I've been away so long! I do plan on being back to normal in a little over two weeks!

Jen/Jules
Unedited & Jules and the Stars

Anne Gallagher said...

I love the way people in the south get so crazy when it snows. They shut everything down, no one goes out, the weather people think it's the Armegeddon.

I laugh, hah hah.

And I agree with Maine -- That would make a great Christmas card.
Thanks Matt.

Vicki Rocho said...

Occasionally the cold creates stunningly beautiful things. A couple years ago we had a MAJOR ice storm. EVERYTHING was encased in an inch of ice. Power lines went down, trees BENT OVER so the tips touched the road. Some just broke under the weight. But when it was over and the sun came out it was like living in a crystal palace. Gorgeous.

...mostly, though, the cold annoys the crap out of me.

adam.purple said...

Sentimental or not, you hit it just right. Here's my add to your list: I love how when it get so cold and dry that the snow actually squeaks when you walk.

PK HREZO said...

This made me smile. :)

Matthew MacNish said...

Ooh, good one Adam, thanks man!

Karen Baldwin said...

It's snowing, I'm freezing, I'm scraping, I'm slipping. Winter? Oh I LOVE winter when I see it in email photo montages, or have a few shots of Cuervo in me.

DEZMOND said...

I adore winter and snow and thus I love everything you loved in this post, Matt :)

Joanna St. James said...

I can't believe I actually miss snow now that I live in Corsica, last year we had a huge snowstorm in Iowa (I call Ia and Mn santa's secret hideout) I drove my tiny overwhelmed car into a pile of snow, hopped on a snow plough that was ineffectively clearing snow that took me home.

Creepy Query Girl said...

I love all that too. I grew up in CT where there's snow on the ground pretty much constantly from October to March. So...why do you live in Georgia? lol. My parents moved to SC when I was in college and now when I go 'home' I usually go see them in the south. It's like a whole nother world down there. And yes, they have the same thing with the snow- afraid to drive, school cancelled and stores bought out of water, milk and bread...like that will help anything.

Kelly Polark said...

I like to look at the beautiful snow from the inside but not go out in it! :)
And my dog gets up every night to go outside at 2am! Luckily we have a fenced in yard and I can just open the door but sheesh!

Sarah Ahiers said...

White Bear Lake REPRESENT! though, to be fair, i grew up in Vadnais Heights.
You forgot about how cold weather makes it easy to sleep well. And how it makes you appreciate the warmth of your house.
But yeah, my two favorite things about snow is making everything look clean, and the silence. I love the silence so much, especially when everything is so quiet and still that you can actually hear the snowflakes settling on the ground.
Only nature could make that up

Southpaw said...

Great sentiment. I also love the frost on the windows and the layer of snow on the trees and the icicles. Winter has some pretty good stuff!

Melissa Gill said...

Thanks Matt, I was just mentally bi#@* about the cold her in KC. You made me appreciate the beauty again.

Just don't make me stand outside for 30 minutes for a fire alarm like I had to yesterday. It was miserable.

vic caswell said...

matt!!!
this post was so beautifully written- so inspiring!!!- it made me almost, for one second, love winter...
no simple task, man.
*saves post to word document for reading when the winter crabbies come*

Emily White said...

The silence is the best. There's just nothing like it. My favorite part about winter is the first snow when everything is all clean and the snow still clings to the trees. It's so beautiful.

Anonymous said...

I was born and raised in Michigan, so I really miss the winters. I can do without extended below zero temperatures, but love everything else. Thanks for the pic. Brings back good memories of good times with good people.

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I've lived many places that receive snow and miss it. Although you're right - no Southerner knows how to drive in the stuff. Even a threat of potentially bad weather delays the schools around here.

M.A. Leslie said...

Beautiful post and as I watch the flurries accumulate on the ground I will think about what you said all day. Thank you.

Nate Wilson said...

Yeah, I'd feel that way about winter, too, if I lived in Georgia. But I live in the frigid northeast. Thus, I love the first two snowstorms, but after that I'm itching for spring.

Nicole Zoltack said...

I love the snow, I just wish it didn't have to be so cold first. I hate the cold. And snow was so much more fun as a kid, when you didn't have to drive in it.

Lisa_Gibson said...

Living in Colorado, I hate to say I'm NOT a huge fan of the snow. I've always said that if it were warm and came in colors, I'd be more interested. HOWEVER, it's 65 out here today and I do love that. It's supposed to snow tomorrow night and I can hang with a bit of snow too. I just love the fact that we do actually have seasons here. :)
Lisa ~ YA Literature Lover

Shannon said...

Love this post! Well done, Matt! You're making wish for snow all the more. <3

LTM said...

very nice--and I'm w/you on the silence. That stood out to me the most when it would snow in Indy. Everything seemed so quiet. magical~ :o) <3

Anonymous said...

I grew up in New England and have always loved so many of the things you mentioned about cold weather. Unfortunately, having lived in tropical climates for the past few years, I've had none of that. I'm treasuring the current "cold spell" Florida's experiencing, and wishing -however ludicrous- for flurries.

Unknown said...

I'm never bored by football talk, but my team had a bad day too.

I love winter but in moderate doses. My hubby went to Bemidji University in Minnesota and they had underground tunnels to the classrooms, because it was too cold to go outside. That's way too cold for me. I'm in CO where it's sunny even when it's cold, so I never feel that bitter cold I experienced in the Northeast. I'm NEVER moving! :)

Talli Roland said...

I am anti-winter. I even moved to London to get away with it!

angelarene said...

Well, being from Pennsylvania means I don't exactly share your sentiments but I love how you, the gifted writer, worded these;
"I love how when the winds whips uninhibited across a frozen lake it can sound like spirits wailing at the living.
I love how a fresh snowfall can make even the most dilapidated urban ghetto look full of innocence, peace and purity, even if only for a moment."

Old Kitty said...

The best reason why I love snow (apart from it making christmas most chrismassy) is how it seems to cleanse and transform everything into a "look full of innocence" even the most "dilapidated urban ghetto"!! So so so true!
Take care
x

Unknown said...

This post make me positively yearn for England. Nothing like a healthy dose of snow, especially around Christmas time. Here in NZ, it's the complete opposite. Hot and humid.

Great post, Matthew.

Susan Kaye Quinn said...

Oh, you make me mourn my days in the mountains, when I literally woke up to that 9mos out of the year. Then again, after the first 5 mos, I was willing to trade it (and my first born) for a little heat and the ability not to wear boots.

Elana Johnson said...

Okay, I'll give you the silence. That, I enjoy. Everything else? Uh, no. And can't it be silent in the heat too? I mean, seriously.

K. M. Walton said...

The silence is my absolute favorite thing about snow as well. It's like the entire world unplugged.

CA Heaven said...

Great picture. Grab your snowboard and get out on the slopes >:)

Cold As Heaven

Hannah said...

For all our bitchin and moaning, there's a reason why we are all still here. I loves it. It's challenging and I love a good challenge. :D

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

The last one is my favorite. I love the silence during and after a snowfall before the snowblowers start up and the plow goes through.

Carol Riggs said...

I love the first one, with the puffs of "steam" coming out like you're playing choo-choo. ;o) Very cool. Also the snowflake individuality compared to the soul of every person.

erica and christy said...

I'm trying to love winter. But it was -26 when I got to work this morning and that's just ridiculous.

I'll try again next week and reread this.
erica

Copyboy said...

Ahhh, puppies peeing in the winter. I remember those days well...Freezing my ass off.

Ted Cross said...

I grew up in Arizona, so cold weather was alien to me. Once I moved to Moscow I got it in spades. I can enjoy it in small doses, but Moscow is just too much. There was a day that with wind chill hit minus 70-something. It physically hurt just to walk one block to the metro station.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Matt - the picture and the silence .. I absolutely agree. The silence mainly ..and it's so beautiful. Thanks - Hilary

Natalie Aguirre said...

Great post. I can't say I love winter like you though. I'm fine if it's at least the mid 20's, but this frigid weather is too much for me. Good thing you love the winter with living where you do.

Anonymous said...

I'm looking forward to our first serious snowfall here, so I can stand outside and listen to the soft sound of snowflakes settling into place.

Also, I can store extra vodka outside in a snowdrift at that point, so...double win!