Winter itself is great. Winter clothes are comfy; there is nothing better than boots, sweaters, mittens, big scarves or fuzzy socks. It's too cold out to be sweaty all the time, all the bugs are dead, and seasonal hot beverage flavors like peppermint, pumpkin spice, gingerbread, and eggnog are finally here.

Christmas and New Years are the best holidays (in my opinion). You have an excuse to shop for, and exchange gifts with friends and family. Christmas decorations make the house feel so cheery, and the Christmas lights outdoors make the neighborhood look even more welcoming. Even Christmas music is great (as long as its not played before Thanksgiving)!

All of these things are what makes winter great for me. The only thing that ruins it is the snow. Everyone seems to get so excited with the first snow of the season, and when the local weather channel predicts snow the next day people react so happily. The first day it snowed here all I found on Facebook were people's statuses saying "It's finally snowing!", or "What beautiful snow!", but all I can think is "Oh great, here we go again".

I understand the aesthetic value of snow. It's a beautiful scene when the trees have white trim and the hills are covered. It's cute to see a snowman in someone's front yard, but it's not enough to make up for how completely annoying the snow is.

I wish I could see snow as this magical thing as so many do. I wish I could get excited at the first snow each year, but I just dread what that snow will mean. Unless you fork over the money to ski or snowboard, snow just gets in the way of day-to-day life. Unless you are a child, or have children, you are probably not sledding or playing in the snow often. This leaves most adults in an awkward spot to wrestle with the snow's presence more than simply enjoy it.

Snow's presence means driving is hell. Driving in the winter means that you usually have to drive slower and hope you will not hit a patch of black ice on the road. If there is a blizzard, you generally cancel your plans altogether rather than navigate through what feels like being inside a snow globe. Those are the days where you can only see one foot in front of you. And even though we all know driving in a blizzard is not smart, it doesn't mean that class or work will ever shut down for severe weather conditions. So you risk your life to get to work but have to drive so slow just to make sure you don't fly into the ditch or that you end up late. Then, regardless you get in trouble with your supervisor even though you just about died.

Snow means that you have to warm your car up early in the morning, unbury your car from the fresh snow and melt the impossibly thick ice from your windshield. It means that while your shoes are getting slushy and your glasses fog up you are also getting a morning workout you didn't want. It means shoveling your driveway, salting your sidewalk, and always knowing what side the plows will be coming through that night so you don't get ticketed for parking on the wrong side of the street.

Snow is to blame for the slush and mud that gets tracked throughout the house each winter. Snow is what makes letting your dog out to pee in the middle of the night or early morning so annoying; they will come in with wet legs and bellies, getting that lovely 'wet dog' smell on the carpet, couch, or bed. Snow is to blame for the rust eating away at the underside of your car, not the cold, not the winter.

Don't get me wrong, winter itself is great--but I could do without the snow. The pretty scenery and seldom ski days are not good enough when day-to-day life is made so inconvenient.

I would move to a state without snowy winters if I didn't have all my family and my entire life built here. I love the spring, summer and fall of Minnesota and Wisconsin. I love overall life here, so I put up with the fact that snow ruins winter for me.

Living here is worth it, but you can count on me complaining about the snow.