‘Blow, thou winter wind’

“Patchy light snow and flurries continue intermittently through early evening with some areas seeing little additional snow.”

That was the midday forecast for the Washington DC area today.

Other winter-related headlines in the Washington Post included: “Snow, ice causing accidents”; “School closures”; “The cold sets in”; and “Federal workers may leave early.”

And I miss it all, god help me.

I was born in Chicago and lived the first six years of my life there. As a result, I have always associated Christmastime with snow despite growing up in Los Angeles. Later, as an adult, I lived for many years on the east coast, mostly in the DC area. Ergo, winter -- the kind with frigid temps and lots of snowflakes -- has been imprinted permanently in my DNA.

The other day here in Phoenix, it was 75 degrees under clear blue skies. Absolutely beautiful weather. But there is something fundamentally wrong with walking around attired for the beach (t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops) in the middle of December. Yet, that was me as I shopped at my local supermarket, garnished with a LA Dodgers baseball cap worn backwards. Sigh.

Yes, real winter is harsh. I haven’t forgotten those subzero mornings I spent scraping two inches of ice from my car’s windshield. That wasn’t fun. But I also haven’t forgotten pausing on those same mornings to admire the sheer beauty of the winter wonderland that enveloped me. That took my breath away. It is, as Shakespeare said, “Blow, blow, thou winter wind; Thou art not so unkind.”