Generally speaking, I don’t like winter. I like the idea of winter. I always think I want snow and chilly weather, but when it arrives I’m never prepared and usually underdressed for it. It wasn’t until last year when we had zero snowfall that I started to really miss winter. As much as I hated the cold, I couldn’t bring myself to enjoy the unusually warm and mild ‘winter’ we were having. It’s just not right.

So this year when we finally got a snow day and several days of snowfall I was pumped. I wanted to sled down every hill in Lawrence and make snow angels all day. Once that initial enthusiasm wore off, I realized a sad truth. We really hadn’t received that much snow fall in the grand scheme of things. Which got me to thinking, is this the new norm?

I visited Colorado recently, after all the snow had fallen in Kansas, and was pleased to see so much snow on the ground. Until a Colorado native told me it was barely any snow at all for this part of Colorado. Which made me wonder, again, is this the new winter?

I think it may be time for the global community to start taking a hard look at climate change. If we want to save winter, and all of the other seasons too, we have to start trying to counteract climate change, not just talking about. It won’t be easy or convenient but I think it will be worth it. The fate of snowmen everywhere depends upon our efforts.
xxx
Mara