Wimps, I say

So almost every school in southern Manitoba outside of Winnipeg and Brandon are closed today. No school buses are running in Winnipeg, and the majority of private schools are closed. The public schools are still open though, and of course that is where I work.

Why are all these schools closed, you might ask? Why are there no school buses running? Because it is -35, but with the wind-chill it is -50. I remember when I moved to Calgary they closed the schools down because it was -35 or -40 or something and it just made me laugh. I had just moved down from Yellowknife, where -40 was commonplace. If it was below -40 they'd let us come inside before the bell rang in the morning, and we'd have indoor recess. But close the schools? Not gonna happen. We even walked to school most days. Now this might come across like, "Well, when I was a boy, I had to walk to school EVERYDAY, in -40, through 5 feet of snow, with no boots and it was uphill in both directions." But that's fine, if you want to take it that way, because I'm not exaggerating. Winnipeg winter is almost as cold as up there, so people should understand how to dress for the weather, and own warm clothes. Don't give me that bullshit. I could go on and on about all the stuff we used to do, no matter the temperature, but it's irrelevant, and it just makes me miss it.

Sure it's cold. I froze my balls off sitting in my car as I drove to work this morning, and my fingers went numb being out of my gloves for the 15 seconds it took to fumble with plugging my car in. Yes, my teeth hurt when I smiled at someone when walking to the building and my nostrils would freeze together if I breathed in too sharply. But that is just part of winter. I'd enjoy it more if I had snowpants, because I'm not above wearing them around, but I get by.

It's Winnipeg. It gets cold. If you've lived here for more than a year you know this. If you haven't lived through a winter here, you've heard about it...A LOT. So there is no excuse. Stop your whining and enjoy life.