Sunday night I returned home from doing a little grocery shopping and smelled wood burning.

I looked around the neighborhood and noticed a chimney with smoke billowing into the night.

The cold weather has arrived and I don’t know if I should be happy or sad.

Cold weather means it is time for Christmas — which I do enjoy — but before I can celebrate Christmas, I have to do the holiday shopping, which I do not enjoy.

The cold weather means I can get a fire going in the fire place and snuggle with my wife. Getting the fireplace going also means higher gas bills.

Cold weather is needed for snow, which is needed to freeze the roads so I can get a day off work. Of course the threat of snow leads to a crowd at the grocery store as everybody decides to purchase all of the milk and bread in town.

Cold weather means it is time to make homemade cookies and fudge for the holidays. I can’t think of a downside to this — I love the cookies and fudge.

The cold weather reminds me of many happy times in my life.

It makes me think of spending Christmas at my grandmother’s house.

It makes me think of the Valentine’s Day when I went to visit a girl from my speech class at UNA while she was working. We started dating soon afterward and are about to celebrate our sixth wedding anniversary.

It reminds me of the January day Erin and I traded our wedding vows across the street from Jackson Square in New Orleans with Saint Louis Cathedral in the background.

There are many wonderful memories associated with the cold weather. There are also some things about the cold weather I do not like.

I prefer warmer weather. If it could stay around 75 degrees all year long, I would be happy.

I don’t like the way the trees look when it gets cold. I like trees to look healthy and have thousands of leaves on them.

I have been up north during the winter and it is depressing. There is a blanket of snow with hundreds of leafless trees rising from the ground — it reminds me of death for some reason.

At least here in Alabama we have some evergreen trees to help the landscape look a little less dreary.

But I guess the cold weather is a good thing — it allows me to appreciate the warmer weather even more.

I love to watch the new leaves grow and paint the once bleak landscape with brilliant shades of green. I also love to watch those shades of green transform into the reds, yellows and oranges of fall.

I always enjoy the first day of the year when I can put my jeans and slacks back in the drawer and pull on a pair of shorts.

Oh how I love those days. They will get here eventually, but first I must endure the cold.

At least there are some great memories to keep me warm on the inside.