Let’s hear it for Winter’s warmth

Yup, you heard me right.

Sure, the snow and cold and sometimes cruelly raging winter winds can make tears freeze and cheeks crack.

But it also makes you more appreciative of a warm fire. The warming house for ice skaters. Seat warmers in your car, hand warmers for winter dog walks.

And warm people.

Is it my imagination, or are people just a little bit warmer in the winter? A little more likely to help someone carry groceries, shovel snow, give you a warm bagel instead of an old one at New York Bagels and Bialy (the only place for great bagels in Chicago).

Hot toddies and hot chocolate are nice, but warm people are even better. Because warm people are more likely to come together. And any time people come together, something good can happen. A great idea. A solution to a tough challenge. The inkling of a community.

Let’s hear it for Winter’s cold. Without it, we wouldn’t have Winter’s warmth.