Life Isn't Perfect, Deal With It

The forecast tomorrow in the Chicago area is for mostly sunny skies with a bit of wind, basically the same as it was today save for a few lingering snow showers in the following following a small burst of accumulation overnight. Most of the day yesterday was sunny as well, nothing much to speak of in terms of inclement weather.

Yes, it is very cold. I get that. The high today was barely in double digits and the wind kept wind chills below zero most of the day. Tomorrow's high is around zero and that same wind will keep wind chills predictably in the 10- to 20-below range.

So it is cold. That has been established.

But there is absolutely no reason for the local news to be filled with closures from every corner of the Chicagoland area, absolutely no reason for business not to continue as usual.

The roads are fine. The skies are clear. Why is everyone acting like it is doomsday?

During my four years at Deerfield High School, I believe there were at most two weather-related cancellations.

Total.

Tomorrow will be the fifth temperature-related disruption at DHS in just the last 1.5 years, four days lost because it was "too cold" and another cut short because it was supposedly "too hot"

Since when are high schoolers the modern-day equivalent of goldilocks?

There is no doubt the increase in cancellations across the board, not just anecdotally, is in part the result of the more extreme weather that is being induced by global climate change and the consequent increase in el nino frequencies.

But I also have no doubt that it is in no small part the result also of an ongoing decline in the collective resolve we have as a people to deal with adversity in our everyday lives.

From making sure no child leaves a youth sporting event as the "loser" to making sure those same children are protected from having to deal with 5-10 uncomfortable minutes waiting for the bus (and don't tell me Deerfield kids are not adequately clothed - that's a complete non starter), there is an evolution away from resolve and toward avoidance that is very troubling.

The problem with shielding ourselves from the adversity inherent to life itself is that we never develop the ability to cope with the adversity we cannot simply avoid when it inevitably comes at us down the road (not really separating the winners/losers until after college is another issue for another post). With regards to dealing with the weather, the basic facts of global climate change tell us that we will not be able to avoid these types of inconveniences much longer as they grow more and more common, not without consequences to learning and/or productivity at least.

Its going to be cold tomorrow. So what?

If it really was life-threatening, then children in parts of Alaska and northern Canada would never go to school from December through February. Students in Lapland would stay home from All Saints Day in October straight through Easter. Just like those people do, we in the Chicago area should simply wake up tomorrow, put on a coat, and go about our daily lives.

Life isn't perfect, deal with it.