The Grass Is Always Greener – A Tale Of Resiliency

I’m sure by now we’ve all heard the phrase “Why do I live where the air hurts my face?”
After the recent string of extreme cold warnings, I have never questioned my geographical residency more (and, in turn, my sanity). I find myself cursing our settler ancestors who just simply looked around and said “You know what guys, I think this is good here, right? You guys good? Let’s stop here.” And here we all are, paying for that horrible mistake.

I suppose I’ve been fairly vocal lately about the general yuckiness that is winter in Ottawa. Vocal enough that a friend recently reminded me,  “You know Pat, the grass is always greener on the other side.” Presumably to offer me comfort and let me know it could always be worse.

Ok sure, friend-o, I do covet that grass because it isn’t covered in ice and snow! OK sure maybe there IS still life on the surface of this barren, frozen sphere, but we can’t see it because our eyes are all frozen over. In Ottawa, we get to claim the status of living in one of the  the coldest capital cities on the planet, and did I mention how upset I am at our ancestors? But I digress.

Just maybe, the grass really is green under all that frost, rime, and hoar. Against all odds, what if the grass is not only just hanging on to survive, but actually.. “gasp”  thriving?!

Grass is sturdy as heck, you guys.

Need confirmation? Think back to those one or two shoots of green that poke up through your driveway or sidewalk.  You’ll be sure to find it sturdy,  possibly bordering on indestructible.

While it may seem like it wouldn’t be possible, grass actually does quite well under the snow. The coverage keeps the grass insulated and out of the nasty wind chill, and is actually much warmer below the snow than above it. And seeing as grass plants themselves live mostly underground and store up all the sun’s life energy in their massive root systems, they’re quite content to just chill (😉) underground until the thaw when they grow their blades anew. Grass, in a word, should be described as resilient.

THAT my friends, is the lesson here. We’ve all made it through this many winters because as a species, we’re resilient. Just look at the hardships and obstacles you’ve had to overcome the past two years alone. Covid, school closures, home schooling, work stoppages, zoom calls, having to cut your own hair, realizing you’ve made a grievous error in cutting your own hair, binge watching Tiger King. All difficult to come to terms with and in the case of Joe Exotic and his royal subjects, impossible to un-see.

I’d just like to say that whatever side of the fence you’re on in THAT particular scandal, the real criminals here are the people cutting hair in Wynnewood, Oklahoma. Yikes.  🐅

But yet again, I digress.

Much like most of the people in Joe Exotic’s life, we’re survivors. We’re resilient.

So we keep on keeping on, friends. We’re all stronger than we think. A little bit of ice and snow can’t finish off the grass, and it won’t get us either.

Remember: soon enough, the sun will be out in full force and the earth will start to thaw us all out, just like the blades of grass on “the other side”.