I grew up in Florida and have lived in Minnesota for the last eighteen years. S...

I grew up in Florida and have lived in Minnesota for the last eighteen years. Sometimes, deep in the heart of winter, I think: how did I get here?
It is not, in any way, a complaint.
It is more a question of wonder.
I grew up swimming year-round in fresh water lakes; and now, here I am in middle-age, trekking across a frozen, snow-covered lake.
I am walking in the footsteps of friends who headed out on the lake before me; a friend is following behind me and we are walking in end-of-the-day...