Whether the weather...

There is something about a long, loathing winter that gets into your bones and makes your heart soggy. However, on this dreary day, I have received a great epiphany: I love it! Since I was small, the winter has always been the season that makes the rest of the year completely amazing. Living in places like San Francisco Bay Area and Albuquerque really made me long for winter. Yes, it gets relatively cold in these places, but nothing like the MOUNDS of snow that descended upon us in New England this year. MOUNDS that still exist in places.

I love it. Well, let's say that what I love about it is the common pain that we are all facing at the moment. Every person I have encountered has commiserated with me. A little comment here, a sad face there; this weather sucks. Yes, I reply, it DOES suck. And then we are a little closer because people bond in the face of suffering. It makes us happy that another person recognizes how awful we feel about the crappy weather.

And yet you may not see this as such a big deal. Well, let me tell you, I've also lived in the Pacific Northwest and that small amount of 12 months gave me incredible insight to the human psyche. You see, people in that area of the country know that the weather is going to be crap 99% of the time and they are totally ok with that. On a grey day like today, they wouldn't even flinch an eye. When a complain would be voiced, immediately someone would have to say, "oh, it's not that bad." Yes, the sun is not out and it's been raining for about four months, but it's not that bad.

It IS that bad. Really, it is. When you are going through a rough time and someone tells you "it's not that bad" you want to punch them in the face. Sometimes it IS that bad and when we are able to recognize the pain in other people we gain their trust. Sometimes life IS that bad. Our suffering can be relative but to completely ignore the pain others are feeling can only add to their disconnect from humanity. After my season of winter in Seattle I have learned to let people complain about bad weather, even if I think it's not that bad.

Really, I just want it to be warm again, don't you?