Wishing for Winter

It’s been snowing for four days straight.  This morning, the flurries look even more beautiful because the sun is also out.  Welcome to Canadian winter.  Although this is the third winter for me here in Ontario, it is the second for the family.  On the one hand, we still love the snow.  The girls are constantly out, clearing the drive way, building a snowman, or playing shovel-ball (a game they invented – much like baseball.  The batter hits the snowball and begin running the bases.  The pitcher has to pack a snowball to hit them before they reach the next base – quite ingenious if you ask me).  With the accumulation of about a foot, the girls are looking forward to building a snow fort.

That’s our girls.  For us adults, as beautiful as the snow is, we’re looking forward to the Spring.  The snow began in early November this year.  Which means from now on, we will not see our grass until the Spring.  Last year, that was in late April. It’s going to be a long Winter…

I’ve been seeing posts on Face Book lately of people in warmer climates wishing they had a real Winter.  I admit, I was one of them when we were in Florida.  The idealistic pictures in our minds of looking out the window with a warm hot cocoa mug in our hands with the fire place blazing on our back, watching the kids building a snow man and throwing snowballs at each other and laughing with delight, are all good.  But the reality of dangerous road conditions – not to mention the dirty salt grimes on the car, sub-freezing temperatures and bone chilling wind are some things that burst the bubble of our dreamy revelry.

This makes me wonder… How much of our lives are lived with idealism rather than reality?  Why do we think the grass is greener on the other side, and wish to go there when we have the greener pastures?  How important is it for us to have those wishes?

The reality of the matter is that without idealism, we would settle for mediocrity.  However, too much idealism will probably make us think that we’re missing out on things when we really are not.

So, what do you think?