If I Were In Charge of the Weather

This year’s Christmas was spent on a small lake in the eastern part of the state.  We had found a very nice cabin to rent and the family that could, would be spending 5 days there celebrating Christmas.  The trip is 300 + miles for the two groups of us, some coming from the west and some from the south.  This is all happening, obviously, in December when it is so cold by this time of year that the lake is usually frozen over and snowmobiles are driving across it. And to get there all of us must traverse mountain passes.  Everyone wants a white Christmas but no one wants to drive in the snow.  A contrary group we are.

A contrary group but a happy group. We had clouds and cold and a bit of snow but not much and not for long, on the way to our lake.  Cold and sun on Christmas Day.  Then we got the snow on Saturday.  Big fat flakes came down for hours and it was beautiful.  And cold. And the roads were slippery. And the forecast was for more of the same thru’ Sunday, our day of departure and some of us don’t have snow tires or chains.  (A contrary and not overly prepared group, some of us.) Come Sunday morning we looked outside and there was no additional snow which was good but our morning walk found us sliding down the road that was a sheet of ice.

But bless the weatherman, and mostly God, by the time we’d cleaned and packed up and played our final round of Farckle, the temperature had risen, the ice was melted and we all had dry roads and sunshine on our travels home.

It was a fun and safe Christmas.  And just what I would have ordered if I were in charge of the weather.

God bless us everyone.

Here’s the good news

It’s December 3.  It’s dark in the morning when I leave for work and dark shortly after I return.  It’s 7:30 pm right now and I’m in my pj’s.  It’s 32 degrees outside, dark and feels like it’s time to go to bed.

But hold on, because there’s good news!  No, we don’t get to hibernate away the next few months like bears do.  Those bears have it made. They lumber around and eat all summer, getting fat and happy.  When the cold and dark of fall come on they put on their pj’s, crawl into bed and sleep away the next few dismal months, even giving birth while they are holed up.    When spring arrives and things start warming up, they wake up and go out to dinner.  Smart, smart animals those bears.

Unfortunately, us intelligent humans don’t get to do that. But the good news is–just three more weeks and winter officially starts. Which also means that the days start getting longer.  Not warmer, but longer. Which is good news.