The weather outside is frightful, but the fire is so delightful and since we’ve no place to go, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

The lyrics to this song were written in 1945 by lyricist Sammy Kahn and composer Julie Stern. As I pen these words tonight the weather outside is frightful. My fire is so delightful. But I have places to go so I don’t want it to snow.

We are in the midst of the first snowstorm of the season. I marvel at how beautiful the flakes of snow are as they fall shimmering to the ground. It is beyond the realm of understanding that each beautiful flake is different and unique. As I sit by the fire and watch the beautiful drifts that Mother Nature is creating in my yard, I remember that I had decided this year to embrace winter instead of dread it.

It is really easy for me to embrace winter from inside my home when I don’t have to travel or battle the drifts to get to work. I remember the excitement of having a snow day when I was in school or my children were in school. It was so much fun to crash in the drifts and make snow angels in the snow. We would pull out the sled and venture into the snowy wilderness and then come home into the warmth and hot chocolate that would be waiting for us.

I did venture out this morning and the thought crossed my mind, “What am I doing? Am I crazy?” But somewhere in those thoughts were the memories of the enjoyment I felt in my younger days.

My faithful Mutt Sam was very puzzled this morning when his usual path to the backyard was blocked. He had to take a detour under the porch and through the bushes to the parts of the yard that were not drifted higher than his little legs could shovel through. Once he made it his enjoyment in the change of weather was evident. He stood by the evergreen tree with his basset nose in the air savoring the smells of this new change in his environment. He took a moment to breathe in the freshness, and then he played and tossed the snow with his nose in glee because of his new playground. In spite of his short stature and the hardship the snow placed on his normal routine he embraced the change.

Embracing the cold and snow is hard for me as I journey through adulthood. Possibly it is because I am aware of the hardship snow and icy roads place on other people. Some people have no choice but to brave the weather to get to their jobs when storms stop the rest of us.

My neighbor, who is a nurse and had to be on her shift, plowed through waist-deep snow to get out her door at 5 a.m. Snowplow drivers are out on the roads trying to keep them open and safe for the rest of us. Emergency workers continue on helping those with medical emergencies that don’t stop because of storms and sometimes are created by the storms.

I could not help but think of all the homeless people that may not have found shelter for the night. I have a warm home and a warm fire but many do not. How do we embrace the winter when we know the hardship it places on many people?

I am watching my neighbor’s windmill spinning at what seems like a million miles an hour. Perhaps that windmill is like our lives. Our lives on good weather days sometimes spin at a million miles an hour. Perhaps if we are one of the lucky ones who have the blessings of staying in on a cold storm winter day that is how we can embrace winter. We can let our windmill stop spinning and let winter be the time that slows us down and refreshes us so our windmill can spin again in the spring.

Wells resident Julie Seedorf’s column appears every Monday. Send e-mail to her at thecolumn@bevcomm.net .Listen to KBEW AM radio 1:30 p.m. Sundays for “Something About Nothing.”