Bitter Cold. Can You Blame It?

I have been hearing about how bitter the cold is, and I have to wonder why. Why is the cold so bitter? I think I know. Here we have this perfectly nice cold coming down out of Canada for a visit to New England, bringing along with it some absolutely beautiful snow for skiing and snowboarding and snowmobiles, frozen lakes for skating, and ice fishing, a brisk breeze to encourage us to sit inside by a fireplace and snuggle. And what thanks does it get? Just a lot of moaning and complaining, and people crying about spring. Let’s be honest, everyone, we could have been more welcoming, more friendly, more generous of spirit, could have at least tried to warm up to it a bit. What must the cold think? “Is it me? Maybe it’s because I’m Canadian. No, I know what it is. It’s my honesty.” The cold has no pretense, no illusions. Spring comes promising flowers, but tricks you into thinking they’ll never fade; Summer says come with me on vacation, but doesn’t tell you about having to come home again; Autumn gives you holidays and celebrations, but these only distract us from seeing the shortening of the days and the passing of the leaves. Yet it is the cold of winter that we treat so poorly. But why? It is the winter, not the spring that is the beginning of things. In the fall, all things wither. It is the winter that nurtures and heals, that holds us in its heart as the days grow longer, as the sun returns north, as the whole world prepares to wake into spring. Meanwhile, the cold comes and tucks us, that season when nature weeps its rain, while throwing blossoms around to convince us that it’s happy. And just as we are convinced that spring cares about us it leaves us in July, full of the unrequited passion of the summer heat, which we chase after like some romantic fantasy, only to see it all fade as September turns to October. Winter is the season of hope and the knowledge that that hope will be fulfilled. The cold comes to embrace us and tell us that it’s all going to be all right if we just have patience. So I do not doubt that the cold is bitter. But be careful. I just heard that the cold may be turning brutal. Perhaps it’s not too late. There are still a few weeks in which we can turn this around, show the cold that we appreciate it, that we are not indifferent to the gifts it brings. We might yet warm the heart of the cold in time for spring.