Beyond cold

OK. I quit. Done. Finished. Uncle. Winter, you win.
The actual air temperature — no wind involved — is now at -17 and predicted to drop to somewhere around 25 below zero by morning.
Throw in some windchill and we're talking -35 to -40.
How cold is this? Too cold to run outside. Too cold to even start school on time. Nearly every district in the state is keeping school doors closed a couple extra hours Thursday morning.
Fabulous. The temperature is supposed to warm up to -20 by 10 a.m. By comparison, today's high temp of -8 was a heat wave. We're not supposed to climb above zero until about noon on Friday.
With the exception of a few random days in the teens or 20s, we have been hunkered down in the single digits and below since early December, which brings to mind a few questions.
For instance, where in the heck is global warming when you need it?
I'm also seriously wondering, how did the settlers survive in this stuff? We've got all the modern day conveniences — heated homes, heated vehicles, Ugg boots, warm weather destinations — to cope with the cold and it's still horrendous.
I can't imagine living in a one- or two-room hut, cooped up with my family for months in bone-chilling cold. It's challenging enough being together for a family vacation on the beach when it's 80 degrees.
So, the most pressing question is, why did they stay? Once they knew what it was like, why didn't they move on and save us from this misery?
Now, I'm moving on.
All the brave talk of running through this crap? Forget that. I was delusional. I'm shelving my shoes with screws in the soles.
Tomorrow morning, we'll drop the kids at school at 10:15 and meet for coffee instead of a run. Going to kick back, kick up the feet, sip some hot brew and share laughs with the girls.
Hmmm ... that would be a group run except we get to drink coffee and stay warm. Gosh, life may be unbearably cold, but it is good.