Take a Moment to Be Thankful - for Snow and Winter Workers

As we slid through the snow on our cross country skis this week, my friend and I tried to recall if we had any substantial snow storms last year. If we did, the snow didn’t stick around for long.

But this year, we are in the midst of a true winter. A winter where there is snow on the ground from the start to the end, although with some melting and refreezing in the middle. A winter you recall as a child, where you could build not just one snowman but an entire family plus a dog. A winter where you actually get to use that snowblower that has just been taking up room in the corner of your garage. 

With my flexible job and a husband who is a teacher, my family has the luxury of staying home on snow days.

It’s a time to take a moment to slow down and appreciate the stillness and opportunities a winter storm provides.

With the holidays over, those who can stay home can finally take down their Christmas decorations. Yes, I reasoned that they were still up because I just enjoy holiday decorations. And I do, but let’s admit that they were still up because I was too lazy to take them down. 

With nearly all events cancelled, it gives families a time to sit down to an actual meal at the dining room table. Perhaps playing a board game long forgotten in the hallway closet. And as the arguments begin over the rules, remembering why you don’t play board games very often. 

With the cold outside keeping most people inside, it is a great time to finally read the book that has been sitting on the bedside table, make those cookies before you eat all chocolate chip cookies or start that 1,000-piece puzzle before one of the pieces goes missing. 

On a side note, I plan to start up a puzzle-trading club. Once you have completed a puzzle, you’ll trade it with someone else. Everyone just be willing to be o.k. with that final piece perhaps not making it back into the box. 

But back to winter, I also realize that staying at home in the safety and warmth of your house is not a luxury everyone has. 

All of us should take a moment to be grateful for those who still have to show up to work, regardless of what the weather is doing.

We should be thankful to the city and state crews who are out in the darkness removing the snow, trying to make the roads passable; and the linemen venturing out in this weather to keep our electricity on so we can stay warm. 

We should be thankful for the emergency personnel, from the firefighters and police to all the staff at the hospitals and clinics. Just because it’s snowing, emergencies still happen. And perhaps even more. Accidents due to slick roads and heart attacks from scooping increase the likelihood of needing medical treatment. 

We should be thankful to those workers at businesses which don’t shut down because the weather. In need of cheese to finish dinner, I was truly appreciative that the grocery stores were still open in the middle of the storm, which required workers braving the elements both at the start and end of their shifts. 

I am missing many of those workers who must venture out regardless of the weather but thank you for keeping the community going.

If the Farmer’s Almanac predictions hold true, there will be more winter storms coming our way before spring arrives. Let’s be thankful for the moisture the storms are bringing. Let’s be thankful for the stillness and beauty the snow provides. And let’s be thankful for those who show up for work, day-in and day-out, to make our communities even better places to call home.