By Annette Martel and Kelly Hagen

She Said: “Winter’s a good time to stay in and cuddle, but put me in summer and I’ll be a … happy snowman!” I think we can all relate to Olaf, the snowman from the movie, “Frozen,” who constantly daydreams about summer. Sometimes, it feels like winter lasts about 13 months a year around here, but then, one day, we finally dare put away our winter coats, put out our patio furniture, and melt our way into summer.

I know it is cliché, but I really do think we enjoy our summers more here than folks in other parts of the country, who don’t have to wait for outdoor weather so long. Sometimes I wonder to myself why I don’t live somewhere that I can sit outside (comfortably) all year long. But then I remember, I’ve already done it, and you know what? It didn’t magically solve all of my problems or create world peace. When it’s sunny and 75 in other parts of the country every day, it’s just a regular day, but when that happens here, we’re all happy snowmen.

Our entire lives change. Our selection of fresh fruit grows dramatically. We can cook outside, eat outside, play outside. I have a theory that kids would live outside, if they realistically had the option to do so. I think us adults are really the same way. We long to play outside, whether it is running, tending a garden, or sitting outside on the patio of a local restaurant listening to a local band play.

This is the time of year that we get to reconnect with our agrarian roots. We literally get to stick our hands in the dirt and remember how we’re connected to the land. The earth that had slept so long under a white blanket suddenly comes to life. Every year, we get to live as part of the sweet metaphor that life can sometimes seem like a struggle, but the sun will always come out again, eventually.

Take this opportunity to breathe in the scent of blooming flowers and freshly cut lawn. Sit out on your deck to sip your morning coffee, while you listen to a free concert of birds singing in your backyard. Most of all, enjoy every little drop of the gift that is summer, because before you know it, we’ll all be turning back into snowmen.

Annette and Kelly’s daughter, Doyouwant Tobuildasnowman (not her real name) invites you to remember that this white powdery stuff is coming back again, soon.

He Said:

Granted, I don’t get “Frozen” quite to the extent of our three-year-old darling daughter. But I have a theory about that Olaf snow guy. I think it’s possible that he doesn’t actually know that snow melts in the sun. But he’s happy, so whatever works for you, believe in that thing.

And that’s how I like to perceive myself, as a native North Dakotan: blissfully unaware that we, as human beings, aren’t supposed to live in a place where temperatures can hit a full 40 degrees below zero. As comedian Lewis Black has said, temperatures that low don’t qualify as weather; that’s an emergency condition. “At that point, if you had any brains, you’d call the federal government, and you would say, ‘Get us out of here.’”

We trudge through eight or nine months of winter in exchange for a couple months of summer. That’s not a fair deal. Who negotiated this contract with nature for us, anyway? Lewis? Clark?

Summer is a message from the universe to us North Dakotans. It reads, “Why are you still here? I’m going to do my best to make the temperature halfways palatable for you people for a couple of months, but know that there are lots of other places on Earth where it’s like this all year ‘round. Go to there. OK, bye.”

Like I said, though, our condition is blissful. For the next few months, we get to live these different lives. We’ll be outside, grilling, hiking, boating, playing, pretending that winter doesn’t exist. This is definitely the year it’s not coming back. Sell the winter coat, ma. Throw out the gloves. We are not snow creatures. We are outside! We are invincible!

It’s more special that way, probably. Floridians have no idea how good they have it. Their climate embraces them year-round, and they’re all pampered jerks (don’t tell them I said that). We know the value of sunny day because they are so finite, here. We enjoy them more because they are at a premium.

Yes, Olaf, there is a summer. So get out there and enjoy it while it’s here. It’ll be gone again soon. And if you listen carefully enough, you can hear the universe laughing at us.

Columnists Annette Martel and Kelly Hagen are married, have one daughter and another baby on the way, and are currently enjoying the two weeks of summer we get in North Dakota. They can be contacted at shesaidhesaidcolumn@gmail.com, if you so choose.