Children are not supposed to get cancer. Life is not always easy to understand. The day is sometimes dark when all we want is sun. Yet, we recognize that every time we pull the blanket off us to greet the day is a Good Day. We allow ourselves the fun we crave, even in the grasps of heartache or winter.

Finally, it is cold enough for our upcoming winter festivals. We are keeping fingers and toes crossed for more snow. When the stars align, winter is a time of great beauty. We must get outside to enjoy it.

Leaders and volunteers have lined up a variety of outdoor recreational activities to entertain us all, bring tourists to our Valley, and give our family and friends who are “away” yet another reason to come back home.

If you’re from the Valley, chances are you don’t mind the smell of a snowmobile revving up. A snowmobile can take you to our mountaintops, closer to the Big Sky that only the West can match. It can take you to your ice fishing shack on the lake, where your derby prize or evening meal might just be waiting. And it can take you to snowmobile events where there is usually talk about how blessed we are to live in the Valley.

Warm boots can take you far too. As athletes, businesses, or spectators, we will soon get in full gear to enjoy the fun and funds the world-class biathlon event will bring to town. Get ready.

So much to do outside!

How do you follow an ice fishing derby, snowmobile festivals, and a World Cup biathlon event? With one of Maine’s most consistently important tourism draws: the annual Can-Am sled dog races, a training precursor for the Iditarod.

Fun, fun, fun, fun, fun. Mark your calendars. Get outside. Let the fresh air carry your worries away. La vie est belle! Life is good.