Early Monday afternoon, snow started tumbling from the sky.
Ya-hoo.
My delight doesn't come from an urge to make a snowman or ski cross country. Nor does it come because I love winter.
Rather, it comes because I love summer.
Summer can't be fully enjoyed unless you've first witnessed the pain of winter -- the snow, the cold, the biting wind, the shoveling. We've experienced virtually none of that this winter, after a similarly passive autumn.
ADVERTISEMENT
We often are bewildered about how quickly summers pass. But this has been a quicker-than-a-hiccup winter. It's hard to believe that February has almost elapsed. The reason is that we haven't suffered even 10 percent of the normal pain.
Winter suffering is what adds joy to a pontoon ride with a cooler full of anti-dehydration aides. Winter suffering is what adds joy to standing on the first tee or watching a garden grow.
When pontoon rides and golf are available year-round, you don't fully appreciate them. When they're available after winter misery, you understand the urgency in embracing them.
So, without icky weather, we won't be fully enjoying those sunny, 80-degree, low-humidity, slight-breeze summer days. You know, like what the Caribbean has 359 days a year.
Year-round Caribbean living would be monotonous. I'm sure I would tire of it after 30 or so years.
My glee over snowfall may be regarded as poor manners by some, specifically those who have suffered from chronic flooding. I acknowledge that snow gives birth to flooding.
However, with the dry late summer, the dry fall and the dry winter, it will take moisture of ark-building proportions to create flooding this spring.
So, at least this year, it's safe to tout the joy of snow -- and snowmelt. Watching snowmelt run down the gutter is as delightful as a rainbow. Running water is symbolic of winter disappearing.
ADVERTISEMENT
The snow may create a slippery mess now. But you'll be thankful for it on a July day that you will savor even more.
Reach Bakken at (701) 780-1125; (800) 477-6572, ext. 125; or send e-mail to rbakken@gfherald.com .
