I'm not cold. You're cold.

I will admit, I was not ready for my first few experiences of -40 wind chills when I moved here in 2012.

The weather in the Chicagoland area is similar; meaning cold, but I don’t remember the weather being under -10 degrees. As a kid, I remember it being so cold that it hurt to run. I remember salted streets. I remember snowball fights, snowmen, and the occasional sled or two, but what I don’t remember is it being so cold that we couldn’t go outside for recess.

Moving here has been an adjustment. The threat of my car not starting, and also the squeaking my car makes when it does start. I never knew a world with oil pan heaters or Muck Boots.

There are days that I wonder why I left Florida. There have been several winters, where living here, I have been depressed.

This year is a little bit different.

This year, I am not as cold as I have felt in past years. And this is a colder December than I remember in Malta. Maybe it’s the Omni-Heat undershirt that I wear. Maybe it’s because I enjoy my new snowblower. Maybe it’s because I am thankful for snow after the drought that we have had. Maybe it’s because I now know what to expect in the winter months. Maybe it’s because I pray more than prior winters.

I honestly can’t tell you why I don’t feel as cold as I did in previous winters, but I am thankful that it feels like I am acclimated.

Even though it is -18 outside as I write this, I think to myself, “I have been colder.”

As we venture into 2022, I hope that everyone in our county feels a sense of optimism. We have been through a pretty rough 2020 and 2021, driven by COVID, political nonsense, and plenty of other garbage.

Some have been through more trials and misfortunes than others. But even through all of the discouragement that many have experienced, I hope that we can press on. One step at a time. One day at a time. One news story at a time. One transaction at a time. One patient at a time. One calf at a time.

I truly wish you the best this year. Thank you for reading the PCN.