Winter’s coming. Are you ready?

It happens every year. Some exalt the heralding cold and wind of a good snowstorm. Others dread it for the work entailed. It’s either skis waxed and inspected, or snow shovels and snow blowers made ready for the incoming tonnage of the white stuff. Oh boy, the white stuff. Snow. Soft rain if you were a disciple of the Peanuts comic strip. No stopping it. And no, the Democrats don’t control the weather. Come on. Be real.

But imagine if there was a way to control weather. We’d have Hawaii’s 70-degree temps, a predominance of sunshine for perpetuity. Wow. Think of it! All the fresh tropical fruit you could gorge on. Lush foliage. Spectacular birds. A pet green wing or blue/gold macaw for every citizen. No snakes. Beautiful beaches. <Sigh> I’ve never been. You?

But back to reality. Winter. Brrrrr. Inescapable cold, heating bills, sunshine surrendering to lengthening nights, limited outdoor time per the frigid factor and darkness, dogs to walk in the cold and snow if you have dogs, puddles of water on the floor from where snow is tracked in by boots and paws, snow to blow or shovel. But then, there’s hot cocoa (with or without a splash of butterscotch or peppermint schnapps); skiing or snowshoeing if that’s your thing; the moonlight reflecting the crisp whiteness of a new snowfall and squillions of sparkling diamond-like ice crystals winking at you; fireplaces blazing and crackling; Hallmark Christmas movies,  the craziness of holiday lights; the silly season feasting; kitchens smelling of cinnamon, spices, chocolate or a savory palette of mouth-watering flavors; snuggling in warm throws on the couch and reading; and Christmas music.

So, it’s a toss-up on which perspective you choose to focus on. We’ve prepped some at our house. Gathered up leaves, blown out gutters, cut back the dried ornamental grasses. My son has his Christmas lights up. He took advantage of a warm weekend day to get it done during tee-shirt weather. I’m hoping for the weather to align with an upcoming day off so I can wash my car once more before the freezing temperatures settle in.

For a good month now, stores have transitioned to displaying their winter wares. Baking supplies and foodstuff. Christmas decor and toys. Winter clothes and coats. From holiday-scented candles to 30-foot flinging snow blowers, your favorite retailer has plentiful goods to entice you to loosen your hold on the dollar bills peeking out of your wallet.

So in your coin toss, do you come up the grumpy grinchy, bah-humbuging curmudgeon or the over-the-top-jolly, carol-singing, cookie decorating, ugly Christmas sweater-wearing relative/friend everyone loves to hate? It’s your reality, so make it count. Go ahead, kick back on the couch and binge-watch Christmas specials, put some jingle bells on your dog’s collar and sing “dashing through the snow, with my favorite hunting dog--” when you go for those walks. Have fun icing cookies and eating the heads of the gingerbread men. Make the house smell like pine trees and pumpkin pie, hand out candy canes to co-workers (even the grumpy ones). And sing. It’s good for your pulmonary health. Well, I don’t know that for sure, but it can’t hurt.

It’s OK to be happy. Just try it. Start with a smile.