I’m writing this from Des Moines, Iowa, where the temperature is cold but the snowflakes are few. I left Ontario just as a storm barrelled into town, it seems. Looks like I missed some nasty weather.

We all have to remember that this is the season for weather to get us, and the best response we can have is to roll with the punches and keep smiling. Anything else leads to insanity. We can whine and complain about the streetcars being pulled, but the fact remains that buses weren’t doing much better, and the expressways were clogged and slow. Weather affects all systems, and we have to plan for that. We have to build in several minutes of slack for that. We have to accept the fact that we’re not going to be able to make some of our appointments. That’s life. Or, rather, this realization is the key to a less stressful life.

These days are holidays for several reasons, but one reason to consider right now is that these days are here for you to slow down from the hectic pace of the year and to really appreciate what matters: your friends, your family, your life. Sometimes the pace of life is too hectic. Sometimes the weather just wants to kill us. But at the end of the year, we’re still here. The weather can only get to us if we let it.

All the best of the season to you and your friends and loved ones.

And, in the new year, look for additional weblog reporters to take the helm and put more up-to-date news on this site…