Christmas in Killarney

My first winter after returning home from Thailand, I didn’t care much for the cold. (Translation: I hated it.) Two years of nice, hot weather where the coldest it got was 70 degrees had pampered and spoiled me. Bundling up? Ice on the sidewalks? Freezing hands and damp socks? No thanks, send me back to the tropics, please.

I’d like to say the following winters were better. And I will, because it’s true. :) But even so I wasn’t a huge fan of the bleak, biting winds, or of the constant danger of frostbite (well, for some of us :P), and when our heater died smack dab in the middle of the two-week twenty-below-zero fad this past winter, I almost threw in the towel. (And my roommates almost started throwing my books on the fire. Except there wasn’t a fire. But that wasn’t about to stop them.)

This time round, however, I’ve had an epiphany. Cold is just a feeling. There’s nothing inherently wrong with cold; it’s just another sensation, like the bumpiness of a golf ball or the smell of cinnamon or the glaring and obnoxious colors of an Andy Warhol. Once I came to that realization, I saw that winter could actually be my friend. You know, I could even maybe enjoy it.

And now I do. Sure, winter really isn’t here yet, other than a feint of snow yesterday, but it’s on its way. And this time I’m ready. Bring on the brisk, sharp air in my nostrils. Bring on the penguin waddle up the hill on the ice. Bring on the sweaters and jackets and ear muffs and caps and gloves and boots and longjohns and everything else that comes with winter. (And oh, yeah, bring on the Christmas music. It’s not too early. It never is.) I like being cold. Yes, I totally eat it up. (Okay, maybe I’m lying to myself here. But who knows, maybe I might actually believe it.)

hmmmmm…you just described perfectly how i feel about the heat.

20 below–i revel in it. 75 above? i’m crawling out of my skin in agony.

Nice post, Ben. You know, between Thailand’s hot, hotter, and hottest and Utah’s biting winter, there’s got to be a good middle ground, eh? Somewhere that feels like Spring or early Fall year-round. What think ye? It’s probably out there in California, huh?

If someone else has the answer, let me know…I’d love to raise my kids there eventually. :) Heck, I’d like to finish raising myself there, too.

Also, Ben, you can now look at the www.togetherwecam.org site. I fixed a couple things, and the pictures stuff will be coming shortly. Until then, I’ll keep reading your blog, and you can try out my newest e-mail at: barney at barneylund dot com.

Are you sure you’re feeling OK? You sound a bit ill - perhaps feverish?

I have to ask, why the reference to Killarney? Now, I love Ireland. I loved Killarney. Gorgeous area. But what does that have to do with your winter-love (which, btw, is completely crazy)? I cannot think of heat and be happy. If only . . . lol.

Marisa, I’m pretty sure he’s referring to a Bing Crosby Christmas song of the same title. Not my favorite of his, but …there you go :P. Sheesh. I thought everyone listened to Bing Crosby at Christmas.

Oh and Ben, until you’ve spent a full winter in the midwest/Canada, you don’t know cold. Utah winters are for babies. And I’d rather die than go to a place that had no season change! I LOVE winter!

Ben, I’m afraid I have to disagree. There IS a time where it is too early to begin playing Christmas music. June comes to mind.

I’m actually of the mind that every holiday should get it’s fair share of the limelight and being a fierce advocate for Thanksgiving, I feel it gets the short end of the stick far too often. That being said, I hold off on Christmas music until the day after Thanksgiving.

As for cold…brrr…60 and below is too cold for me. I’d much rather burn.

Anna: Maybe this is because you have Scandinavian ancestry whereas I have Mediterranean. :P

Barney: There does have to be heaven on earth somewhere. My guess is that it’s perhaps 300-900 miles from the equator, preferably somewhere that doesn’t flood. :) This is why I should’ve majored in geography… (Nice work on the website, by the way. I just e-mailed you about it.)

Bart: LOL :) Actually, I’m reading Connie Willis’s Doomsday Book right now (about the Black Plague) and I do feel feverish. But it’s just my imagination. :)

Marisa: Joni’s right, it’s a Bing Crosby reference that happened to pop into my mind when I was grubbing around for a title. Not much connection to anything except Christmas being in December and therefore in winter. I don’t know that I’d call my change of heart winter-love, though — too strong. Tolerance, maybe, but not much more than that. :P

Joni: LOL :) I grew up listening to that Bing Crosby Christmas album. Ah, the memories. And I fully believe you about the midwest/Canada (also known as Dante’s ninth circle ;)). That’s why I’m never going to live in either place. I’d prefer not to have to get prosthetics after the gangrene, thank you very much.

Mali: But Thanksgiving doesn’t have any music! How many Thanksgiving songs can you think of? Exactly. :)

The BYU choir has actually put out a Thanksgiving-ish type album. It’s one of 2 Thanksgiving albums I know of.

I hear you about the cold! Hot cocoa (with marshmallows, of course) and wassail have now taken their places on our shelves. Bring on the grey skies and scarves (oh yes!).

Ah, yes, I used to have that Thanksgiving album. But even so, they’re mostly taking folk songs and giving them a Thanksgiving brand; they’re not actually Thanksgiving songs (at least I think; I could be wrong). Which means the songwriters out there need to do something about this. :)

It’s been forever and a day since I last drank wassail. It’s now on my to-do list for this season. And I love love love grey skies, more than I can say. Autumn is my favorite season by far. It’s perfect book weather.