The Warmth Inside A Polar Vortex
Featured in the Dayton Daily News
You might not realize it, but weather builds community, especially in the winter. Anticipation of snow accumulation or subzero temperatures are actually quite bonding if you think about it. I don’t know what it is about snow storms or the frigid jet stream air flows, but big wintry events bind us in a pretty cool way. Probably by the time you read this, the Polar vortex of 2019 will be a distant memory. Record breaking temperatures will be replaced with 30-degree routines. February will begin as expected. We will look forward to the groundhog and whether or not a shadow will bring an early onset of spring. I still don’t understand how that works, so I simply count the days until April. Before we put our earmuffs and knitted scarves aside for the moment, however, the occasion for big wintertime events bears a moment of reflection.
During expected weather patterns, we tend to absorb ourselves in the business of our daily lives. Work, school, and family routines define our days and the tendency to remain in our bubble of existence. But when whopping winter hits, our lives stall offering opportunities to connect with one another. Schools close, and backpacks remain zipped as kids bundle up to sled at the nearby park. Neighbors make the rounds snow blowing driveways for those who live across the street. Friends linger over shared coffee. Lengthy grocery checkout lines are full of chatter about what how cold they say it will be. Stories of those stopping to help others in need flood local news reports. Phone calls with far away friends just “checking in,” texts from adult children requesting soup recipes that re-surfaced from memories of winters gone by, and curling up and to read the much-anticipated book, I argue, are all good for the soul.
As I type, the thermometer outside reads negative 5 degrees. Stories from these last few days will become epic for some. My son will always remember walking on a frozen Lake Michigan in Chicago. Trying to defy frostbite by taking photos with exposed ears and fingers didn’t make me too happy, but I relished in his delight in wanting to experience the one-time event full throttle. Gratitude for simple comforts remind us of how fortunate we are, and extend our awareness towards others who find the biting cold life threatening. I am most heartened by the social and traditional media coverage of the location of expanded shelters for those who need a warm place to rest. Even buses were converted to accommodate those in need. Our common outlook expands during these events, and that is a good thing. I probably would not have given those in Minnesota a thought this week, but trying to conceive what it feels like to brace negative 60-degree wind chills is just plain crazy. Imagining first responders and emergency personnel navigating those elements to help others is an example of unparalleled grit. Even those reporters charged with covering such winter stories are pretty amazing. Sometimes it takes a dramatic change to shake our perspective and expand our world view. Lately, the drama has come with a plummeting mercury level. This January will be remembered for it’s cold, and also for the warmth of our humanity radiated despite the chill. Although I’m not opposed to reflecting on others’ goodness while the beach in 80-degree sunshine, I’ll take the cold for as long as we tend to one another. Softening our hearts and expanding our arms to help those in need makes us all a bit better. Hearing stories of how one helped another adds to our collective human decency. We may still be rubbing our chilled hands, but this past week leaves us feeling warm all over. And to think, this winter may have a few more tales up her sleeve. The term “stay warm,” will continue to call us all to stay bundled up together.