Column: A Happy Medium, by Erin Murtaugh

Buzz, buzz. My phone alerts me of a text message.

Oh, would you look at that! Yet another notification of some sort of winter weather warning. Every Minnesotan has this special love/hate relationship with the wide variety of climate this wonderful state has to offer.

This school year, I’ve had more snow days than any other year I can remember. Actually, a good chunk of these days haven’t even been snow days. They were cold days. It’s too cold, making it too dangerous to go to school. What kind of crazy cold place do we live in? This year it seems like we live in Antarctica, not Minnesota.

All of the social networks I’m on are filled with complaints when it is too cold out, and photos every time it snows. Posts saying things along the lines of “Summer can’t come soon enough,” are sprinkled throughout these.

In reality, as soon as summer comes and it is finally hot out, we’ll complain about how it is too warm. Then these posts will change to “I miss the snow.” It is human nature to complain about these small things, but come on, people. If you live in Minnesota, you can’t expect much less than extremely cold winters and extremely hot summers.

Embrace the snow days. It might be too cold to go out and build a snowman, but find something that makes that time special. Curl up with some hot chocolate and watch a movie or two with your family while the fireplace creates a glowing warmth in the room. Do something to distract yourself from the cold if you really don’t like it. The same thing should be done during hot weather. Find a creative way to cool off. Make some yummy popsicles or take a dip in the lake or pool.

If you’re not one to complain about the cold, great. You are an amazing, strong Minnesotan.

If you find yourself constantly complaining about the cold — I’m definitely guilty of this — maybe it’s time to think about relocating to somewhere warmer. In fact, maybe that’s what I’ll do.

(More on that another week.)

 

Albert Lea resident Erin Murtaugh is a senior at Albert Lea High School.