Here in Minnesota we have a way of coping with the weather that I will have to learn again for I have indeed forgotten...
It was -13F this morning but the weather guy on the radio said, "at least there's no wind."
Rule number 1: Always celebrate when there is no wind.
Even if it is still cold enough for your fingers and toes to drop off with only a short exposure to the elements! It has now warmed up to -1F but the wind has picked up to 5mph bringing a windchill of -12F, oh well, we claimed this rule while we could!
Yesterday morning I woke up to temperatures of -20F and was told by a native Minnesotan, "Ah, but the sun is shining!"
Rule number 2: If the sun is shining then the cold can't be as bad as you think
Really, then why was no one out in bathing suits and bikinis, why did the hairs in my nose freeze when I tried to breath, why do my lips go numb after a minute or two?
One of the phrases the native Minnesotan loves to state is that we have four season here. You may ask which four? Well, they would be the same four that people all over the world have, winter, spring, summer and autumn.
Rule Number 3: Convince yourself that the four seasons are special in Minnesota.
They are indeed special as November sees an average snowfall of 6.1 inches and April an average snowfall of 2.9 inches. This winter form of precipitation would lead me to believe that winter is a five to six month season, not many places can claim this! Only June, July and August have never recorded snow.
Perhaps there are other rules that I'm unaware of or have forgotten, if so please remind me, I need to relearn them and be fully assimilated back into the culture!
