Embracing (Not Escaping) Midwestern Winters
Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home.
Edith Sitwell
This past Saturday morning, we woke up to 1-2 inches of snow, our first of the season. Call me crazy, but I was excited to put on my boots and grab my scraper to clear our driveway. My son Eric came out to help. We were the only ones outside on our street as more flakes softly fell from the gray sky. I briefly looked up to take in the scene. I loved the calm, the white blanket covering everything as far as I could see. It was quiet and peaceful, with our American flag drooping motionless on our old oak tree.
It was the end of our first week home in Chicago after spending the past ten days at my mom's farm in Iowa for our traditional Christmas break. We focused on family and some much-needed rest after the hectic run-up to Christmas. We spent most of our time in the living room with my two brothers' families, playing cards and board games like Qwirkle. We went to a moving church service on Christmas Eve in the beautifully restored Orpheum Theater in Sioux City. We watched movies and sports. My son and I practiced baseball indoors with my brother and niece. We saw the new "Boys in the Boat" movie in the theater (we liked it). I read a terrific new book called "Why We Love Baseball" and thought about some new personal creative projects between afternoon naps.
During this last week, various people asked me about my time off. I told them about my restful break, and many replied with comments like "That sounds awesome" with a look of longing as if they would have preferred something similar.
Most of my friends and co-workers had gone on a cruise or trip to a warm-weather locale like Florida or California. When I asked about their vacations, of course they talked about fun moments. But I also heard complaints about the weather or that they felt like they needed another break to recover from their vacation.
The general feeling was that they had not stopped long enough to take a breath, instead filling their breaks with non-stop activity. It hurts my head even thinking about planning an extravagant vacation on top of everything else happening at Christmas.
I know our family is more old-fashioned, and we are lucky we all get along so well. But a simpler Christmas break is within most people's reach, provided they choose it.
A growing number of people feel an urgent need to escape midwestern winter weather. I saw this trend accelerate during covid when more people started moving all over the country, especially from places like Chicago. When people explain why they move, they tick off the usual reasons - lower taxes and politics (both very valid). But then a good number of them will get animated and raise their voice, "And the weather! I am just so sick of the cold weather!"
Trust me, I'm human - I enjoy business trips to warmer weather when they randomly come up. It's nice to feel the sun's warmth and get a brief change of scenery.
But I don't like feeling that I need to escape my everyday life or the weather. People with that mindset usually return to the cold with even more disgust for it than before.
I recently read Ryan Holiday's "Discipline is Destiny" book and enjoyed a story about college basketball coach Shaka Smart. When Coach Smart moved from Texas to Marquette in Milwaukee, reporters asked him if he was a cold-weather or warm-weather guy. I liked his answer - "I'm a dress-for-the-weather guy."
I choose to embrace the winter and the natural cycle of the seasons. Call me crazy, but I would miss the quiet calm of scooping snow. I enjoy the warm fire in our living room at night as we watch a good movie or Iowa Hawkeye basketball, watching the shadows of the flames dance across our ceiling. I even enjoy the sunny afternoons when I am out running errands, when I can feel the sun through my window, realizing that we are gaining a few more minutes of sunlight every day as we move toward spring.
At a time of year when animals hibernate, this past week has been my strongest period of sleep in months, as I reached personal records for restorative sleep (deep + REM).
Kindness is like snow - it beautifies everything it covers.
Kahlil Gibran
All my recent rest and relaxed family time, my slower pace, have made me a little kinder and more patient, at least for now - a great reset as we head into 2024.
God, thank you for giving me this rest and rejuvenating me for the adventure you have planned for us this year.
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