It Finally Felt Like Winter

Yesterday evening the temperature here in Minnesota dipped down below the zero degree marker for the first time in what seems like, well, about a year's time. Up until mid-January this winter has been one of the most mild that I have ever experienced, which most people in the area are extremely happy about. I can't blame them really. Cold weather sucks.

But the cold also reminds us that we're in Minnesota and not some middle Midwestern state like Missouri or Iowa or Nebraska. We're Minnesotan, dammit! And we like our cold! And I'm one of the people that actually enjoys the cold weather, not so much for being out in it but for the excuse it gives me to spend countless hours of my free time snuggled up in blankets on the couch watching movies or playing Xbox. Or I can curl up in a pair of flannel pants, a hoodie, and some slippers in my favorite chair reading for hours. And the best part is, since it's so nipple hardeningly cold outside, I don't feel guilty for sitting inside just sitting around.

In the summer I find myself overcome with a sense of guilt at wasting away perfectly wonderful evenings if I sit indoors watching TV or reading, but in the winter, who the hell wants to be getting frostbit by spending more than the absolute minimum amount of time possible in the outdoor wasteland of snow and face-numbing wind chills? Not this guy. Sure, I'll go outside and play a game or two of broomball a week in the junk shrinking cool, but you won't find me just casually hanging out in the wide open cold.

So instead of complaining that the highs are only barely breaking into the low teens, I'm thankful it is. I need my couple of winter months of quasi-hibernation to catch up on all of the time wasting, lazy stuff that I like to do. And I like to catch up on those things guilt free. So be thankful for the cold and go watch that movie you've had sitting on your shelf for way too long or crack open a good book that someone recommended and indulge your lazy self. It's good for relaxing your chilly soul.