You Realize It's Winter....Right?

Let me say this first: I know I'm probably guilty of it too. I try not to complain about the snow and sleet and ice, but somewhere around the fifth storm of the season my little brain just snaps and that's that. I don't know if it's the salt rings on my jeans and shoes or that one wet glove that never quite dries, but at some point it happens; the complaining begins.

The media makes it worse. Coining terms like "Snowmageddon", "SnOMG" and "Snopacolypse" help make the hype of every storm feel like "The Big One". Truth is, most of us haven't seen a good old fashioned snow storm in years - they just don't make 'em like they used to. I will admit to finding it interesting that places where people have never seen snow are now getting it...global warming? I don't know, I'm no expert. I just think it's interesting.

So what is it that makes us, especially here in Canada where harsh winters with lots of snow are the norm, complain so much about it? I think it's because we expect each other to, plain and simple. When you live in a climate that gets as cold and icy as ours does, talking about (and complaining about) the weather evolves into a national past-time. It's like hockey; you're going to talk about it, you're going to defend your team even though you know they're horrible and you're going to complain about the calls. That's just the way it is! (Are my Maple Leafs' roots showing?)

It's simple: It's Canada. It's February. This isn't difficult math - we know it's going to snow, we know it's going to blow and howl and be cold and miserable. We know we'll be snowblowing and shoveling and trying to find our cars in snowdrifts. We do this every year; we're pros! We'll expect it, we'll practically be able to smell the snow coming (hey, don't laugh...some of us can do that!), we'll moan and groan over snow days and kids home from school...but we're going to complain about it.

It's the Canadian way to handle winter, eh?