EDITORIAL: Expecting the unexpected is a privilege

'I can gather all the news I need from the weather report.' — Paul Simon, The Only Living Boy in New York

Mother Nature loves to mess with mortal minds.

Look what she did yesterday, the first day of spring. Sunshine on your shoulders. Heat lamp turned up to 65 or so. Mere moments after winter’s official (but not real) demise, that sunny/warm combo felt like the kiss of a sweet summer breeze.

While you were smiling, though, Mother Nature was laughing. And no, she was not laughing with you.

As she does so often to denizens of North Idaho, Mother Nature is snatching the bacon from your plate even as its mouthwatering scent lingers in the cooling air. According to her Press emissary, meteorologist Randy Mann, the days immediately ahead will feel more like the 10th of December than the Fourth of July.

But here’s something to keep in mind. This, too, shall pass. 

At some point, hopefully sooner than later, you’ll be able to shift the winter wardrobe to the back of the closet. You’ll feel a renewed spring in your step as the world around you blossoms. And you’ll find both nourishment for your soul and bacon back on your plate.

North Idaho has seen far worse winters than the one just past, and even if that weren’t the case, you should count your blessings. For it is a blessing to behold the panoply in Mother Nature’s warehouse.

To those wishing they could trade places with Arizonans or Floridians, wish again. Florida bills itself as the land of eternal summer, as if that’s desirable. Ha! If there’s a way to ruin the joy of an ice cream sundae, it’s to have a sundae every day. Sundaes are made special by their irregularity, rare rewards after sufficient time in the trenches with vegetables.

Well, North Idahoans, you’re looking at more vegetables than ice cream sundaes for a while, but remember who’s in the kitchen. Mother Nature loves to serve surprises. And from many perspectives, you’ve plunked yourself in the middle of one of her favorite seasonal paradises. 

Expect the unexpected in life. It's a privilege, friends. A gift.

Happy spring.