I was devoted to the weather channel for years. I knew that when Jim Cantore travels to your town you better take cover. He never came to our city in Northern PA because cold, harsh, snowy weather was the norm. In Philly, the only weather was the muddy splash from passing cars and buses as I hustled to the hospital. A rural environment provided ample opportunity to appreciate the passing seasons: budding of trees, turn of the leaves, soft falling snow. Ha! Followed by feet of snow. Schools and offices stayed open. People became fearless.

This week friends and family are “enjoying” the novelty of the first heavy snow in years. The pictures are breathtaking… from afar. I tease them with palm tree sunsets, but they know I endured many long hard winters. Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this week. Everybody thinks he is such a cute character. Up there you wait in trepidation but after a few years realize that wherever his shadow, you are in it until May.

Rain, sleet, snow, sun, can however provide a chance to be delighted everyday. Weather affects us intimately and offers opportunity to bring wonder. It is right outside that door- tempting us to engage with its beauty and variety. This week children plopped right down to make snow angels, a small boy drags a shovel to help a neighbor, a doctor friend snow blows his elderly mother’s drive.

May I suggest this week that you let the weather and nature capture your imagination? Too many of my friends and family are working through battles with covid but may find spirits uplifted with a walk in nature. Patients who have lost loved ones after the covid holiday surge would do well to contemplate wildlife to soothe their grief. Working or teaching from home, close the laptop and take a quick run to invigorate you for the next mental challenge. When they say” the snow blanketed the area” I appreciate the lovely concept of being enveloped in nature. Let it embrace you wherever you are. Don’t take the weather for granted. Nature is always nurturing. It is a personal gift to experience daily that takes us out of our own racing thoughts and into beauty waiting just for you.