It’s sunny today. We’ve reached that point in winter where the air is too cold to hold the moisture that would allow for such things as clouds or snow. If this year continues like the last, we won’t get any more new snowfall until spring, and yet the towering piles of snow in parking lots, the tracked and furrowed snow on the lawns, and the decorative caps of ice on porch railings will all stick around right through until April.
Winter is a new kind of experience here, unlike winters I’ve lived through in any of the other states I’ve inhabited. It has its own rhythm here. And right now, we’ve hit the Frigid-But-Sunny stretch where below zero temperatures are no longer surprising or even remarkable. The weather man on the radio in the mornings will only stoop to call it “chilly” unless he sees double digits in his negative readings. People don’t talk about the cold any more, or even part with friendly hopes that everyone will “stay warm out there, y’hear?” This is just normal now. Unremarkable. But at least it’s sunny.
If I’d known this is what I’d face when I moved here, I would probably not have come. I’m no hardy winter person who comes to life when there’s adversity to overcome. No. I’m much happier when people mean 20 degrees when they say “really cold.” I’m also a bit of a wimp. And knowing this about myself would probably have made me think even harder about moving here than I did. But as it turns out, it’s not so bad. And it’s sunny.