303. Winter

We finally got some snow on Friday. It wasn’t a ton here in the metro area. It wasn’t the soft fluffy kind that you think about filling your childhood. No, it was windy, crunchy, and icy. Not great. It was the kind of stuff you hate to drive in.

I went for a run on Saturday afternoon. I enjoy cold-weather runs. I bundle up with some spandex, and some synthetic fabric layers. There are usually far fewer people running in the winter than the summer. I think that’s why I like it so much. I just don’t have to deal with people. I get a little bit more time to myself. And I enjoy the way I generate my own heat to keep warm. (Except I don’t like ice. Running on ice is awful.)

I ran just over three miles on Saturday afternoon. The sun was shining. It was cold, but not too cold. Just enough to make your face feel something different. I also like that feeling when you get done and step inside. It’s harder to appreciate the warmth if you’ve never been cold.

Like most Americans, or at least the ones in my social media feeds, I’ve spent a lot of bandwith processing the election these past few weeks. There’s been a lot to unpack. There are just so many issues to discuss and fix. If there’s one good thing about the results of the election, it’s that many people are waking up to the reality of living in a democracy. I forgot who said it, but democracy is not a spectator sport. You need to be involved and engaged. You need to participate to make the system work. I think that’s what a lot of liberals failed to do in this election.

Last week, I heard some women talking about how they couldn’t believe how cold it was out that day. It had just started to dip below 50 after a good stretch of 60 degree days in early November. I shook my head and thought to myself, “You do realize it’s November, right?” These past eight years have felt like a late summer to liberals. Oh, it’s just fine, Obama’s in the White House. I’m comfortable here. Our nation is just fine and everyone’s happy.

A Facebook friend of mine posted before his state’s election that he nearly couldn’t vote because he didn’t register, or something like that. His right to democracy was almost taken away! The thing that pissed me off was that he didn’t have the foresight to look what he needed to do to register. I get it it that it takes time, but good God man, put in a little effort before you rant on Facebook.

Winter does come. (Or whatever winter will look like in the age of climate change.) It does get colder. People who disagree with you and the things you stand for will take powerful positions. Yeah, running in summer is nice, but what do you do when winter comes? Good thing I like to bundle up and go outside.