Our car has been rear-ended resulting in nearly $5,000 worth of damage (thank you Josh at Oliver VanDyke Insurance for covering us). Countless cuss words have left my mouth after getting stuck in the snow too many times to count. And even we (a couple with no kids) have been affected by all these school closings (mostly Young Life stuff). We are with you... we're sick of it too.
But because there's no end to this cold in sight, we give you our top ten unconventional POSITIVE THINGS about winter:
1. Your coat fits burritos: with that coat designed for the Artic you're wearing, you can fit anything in your pocket without drawing attention. Example, you go see a movie with your homies and stop at Qdoba for a burrito beforehand. But then you realize you're late - just stash that tin foiled bundle of happiness in your coat pocket and bring it with.
2. Your trash don't stank: that trash in the back alley, it's odorless. Because it's frozen.
3. You're car doubles as a fridge: you can get groceries, go do something else for hours, and not have to worry about getting those bags of produce in the fridge... they're fine in the car.
4. The weather is the perfect excuse to get out of things: you have an excuse to get out of basically anything you previously committed to, "Ah man I'm not going to make it, roads are bad and I'm not comfortable driving on them." I had a friend cancel on me the other day with this very excuse when the roads were completely clear. "They're 5 miles away," I thought. "Maybe the roads are bad closer to them?" I'm also a sucker.
5. Furthermore, the slick roads are excuse enough for your tardiness: you can literally be late to anything and say, "Roads were bad this morning." Everyone understands you not wanting to put your life or the lives of others in danger by rushing to make it on time when actually you probably should have just left 15 minutes sooner.
6. Ice caves on Lake Michigan, those are a bonus. They're beautiful and you should go see them while we've still got them. We did.
7. During the winter months, you never have to worry about freezer space: oh, you're having a party? Stocking up on delicious hams? No problem... your porch, garage, or breezeway is room enough to store any overflow you have from the freezer or fridge. My parents actually call their porch the walk-in-cooler during winter time. In related news, my Dad also calls it the Men's Facilities... but that's year round. It's a multi-use porch. Side note: they don't have neighbors - they live in the country.
8. On the daily you look like a toddler and no one cares: with your rain boots (cause you're sick of your snow boots), knitted hat complete with a poof ball on top, and mittens... you reminisce about the good ol' days. Sometimes you even walk through puddles intentionally because it affirms your $140 Hunter Boot purchase.
9. Slippers are acceptable attire at any house party: we bring them to almost every social event outside of our house and people think it's funny or cute. Try doing this in the summer and you'll most likely get odd looks. Jeff's are oversized cartoon-like Red Sox sneakers. They're super hot.
10. 'Fat Days' are no big deal: days following that GR microbrew tour and you aren't feeling the skinny jeans and form fitting shirt... no problem, parkas are acceptable alternatives.