Cold Wind Makes Me Happy

I love a fierce cold wind like the one that slapped me in the face when I poked my head out this morning...or even colder and fiercer...the kind that makes your eyes water, your nose numb, and your face red. 

This kind of wind reminds me of my childhood and the cold winters, big snows, and Lake Erie wind that never stopped us from spending hours and hours and hours outside in the cold having snowball fights, making snow angels, snowmen, and snow forts. It was left totally up to us (or so it seemed) to come inside only when we were ready. That was usually when all 23 layers of clothes were finally soaked through. We'd go inside, warm up with hot tea, put on dry clothes, and head back out to do it all over again.

Playing in the snow is immediately where my mind goes when it's windy. When I smell the crisp cold wind, hear the sound of it whipping through the trees, and feel the way it seems to blow right through my bones, I return to that playing in the snow feeling of pure and carefree happiness with no responsibility. Freedom. Happiness. Bliss.