So this has been the coldest week of this winter. That is not in dispute. And it may turn out to be the coldest week of the year. Fine. But why is everybody constantly complaining about it? The standard greeting you get at the gym, or the daycare, or almost wherever you go, is "Is it cold enough for ya?" or "Brrr! It's brutal out there!" or "Sweet Jesus, when will this stop?!" Actually, I haven't heard anybody say "Sweet Jesus". I just added that myself. For flair.

But back to the point: I can't fathom why people insist on complaining about this. I mean, it is cold. For sure. But whining about it won't make it go away. If you are cold, add more layers! But that's not even the point. The point is: The weather is not bad. At all. It's BEAUTIFUL! If any of those whiners would stop and look around, they just might catch some of all that beauty: This country does not have that many hot springs. But go down to the river on a really really cold morning, and there will be this mystical heat mist arising gracefully up from it. If you look around you as you drive down the interstate, you can see tiny, wonderous streaks of heat emanating back from the corners of the cars zipping by. And then, a friend of mine pointed out to me, this extreme cold will turn the snow into diamonds! If you go out into one of these moonlight-filled nights we've been enjoying of late, you will find this endless wealth, spread out on the ground all around you.

How can you complain about this miracle, this magic?

And the sad thing is that people here do not just complain about this weather. They complain about all weathers. In the spring, it rains to much. In the summer, it is too hot. And in the fall, the foliage is never as beautiful as it once was.

People! Get a grip! This winter will NEVER, EVER come back. It is leaving. And it is beautiful. So enjoy it!

Basta!