Yep, It's Cold Enough for Me!

It's a Minnesota conversational staple, "Cold enough for you?" And the answer is yes. Yes it is cold enough for me.

I awoke this morning to the words "bitterly cold" closely followed by "double-digit windchill", as in double-digits BELOW zero.

I just want to stay in bed with a cup of cocoa and a good book. But alas, duty calls. They don't close the schools for cold here, only impassable snow, so I will have to get out the door pretty soon.

If the sun shines I will be ok. Most days it does, even when it's miserably cold. And since I have south facing office windows I am in a little hothouse just perfect for this Texas transplant.

My mind has become a jumble of thoughts along the line of:

• Hot cereal was invented for mornings like this.
• Thank God for my garage.
• I don't care how it looks, it's warm.
• One more cup of coffee and I'll head out.
• Maybe I should bake something.

I have to allow five minutes for "robing" before I go outdoors. None of this dashing to the mailbox with an unzipped jacket and bare head and hands. Nope, I stop the car by the mailbox, leave it running, and hop out while still fully swaddled because I know I won't get swaddled again once I remove all these layers.

The natives are tougher. And they have better gloves.

Scripture references to snow are rare but I take comfort in Eugene Peterson's paraphrase of Psalm 147:

16 He spreads snow like a white fleece, he scatters frost like ashes, 17 He broadcasts hail like birdseed - who can survive his winter? 18 Then he gives the command and it all melts; he breathes on winter - suddenly it's spring!

In the meantime, with another psalmist I will cry out "How long, O Lord, how long?"

I am loving the winter, just not this arctic phase. This week is, indeed, cold enough for me!