Best Winter Ever 2023

Living in Southwestern Ontario, I don't know many people who really love winter. It's cold, dark, and snowy. The weather tries to kill us with snow or ice, or the short days and long nights encroach on our mental well-being. Winter is the not-so-easy season.

A couple years ago a saying was making it's rounds on social media that went something like this; you can choose to complain about the snow...but you'll still have the snow. It's true. We can complain about the winter weather and the challenges that come with that, but it won't change the white flurries or dark evenings.

This past summer, following Annie F. Downs' example, I made a list for the "Best Summer Ever." It included things like learn to stand while paddle boarding and go camping. And this winter, I've decided to make a "Best Winter Ever" list to add some enjoyment to the season. Here are some of the things on my list:

Outdoor skating (my town has a free outdoor rink)
Sledding
Games night
Dinner Party
Go to local hockey game (we also have a local hockey team)
Read 10 books

I'm not a winter hater. I like the snow (so long as I don't have to drive in it!) and I like wearing snow pants and playing outside. I like sitting inside with a cup of tea and a book. But I wonder how this winter will be different since I'm trying to be more intentional about doing the fun things that this season gives special opportunity for. I wonder if we'd all experience winter differently if we tried to make the best of the opportunity. Here are some suggestions if you'd like to make a list of your own:

Cook a new recipe every two weeks
See what classes your community center offers
Visit as many of your towns coffee shops as you can
Start a puzzle (that's only if you're crazy. Puzzles are the worst).
Bake cinnamon buns
Learn a new craft or pick up an old one (I do embroidery in the winter and lay it aside in the summer)
See if there are any local plays or performances you can attend
Host a dinner party
Movie night

These next couple months don't need to be the deary, lonely months that we think they are. They can be months of fun and laughter, of feeling the textures of wool or woodworking, of reading a book or writing poetry. There is beauty and joy to be found in the months ahead, we just might need to do some extra work to find it.

Comments

Maybe It's Supposed to Be Hard

We want a whole, happy, calm life. We want to be healthy. In "crunchie" circles, people use essential oils, grow their own produce, and stop using plastics. In Christian circles, there is an idea, an ideology, gaining ground that presupposes a holistic, restful life is possible if one follows the spiritual disciplines of the desert fathers and mothers. Mysticism. Prayer, scripture, silence, solitude, sabbath, fasting, rest, etc. (If you're looking for a couple interesting reads on this topic you could see these books by Jefferson Bethke and John Mark Comer. ) I want a holistic, happy, balanced life. My kitchen contains wooden cutting boards and loose leaf tea. I begin all my mornings with homemade kombucha, prayer, quiet, and scripture. I do Pilates throughout the week and hold the Lord's Day as holy every Sunday. And I'm tired. And I'm weary. And I wonder if that's just how it is in this sin-soaked world as we run to Heaven. After all, the Spirit tell

Being Single is Kind of Like Not Sleeping Through the Night

For as long as you can remember, you have been told that normal people sleep through the night. You've been trained to sleep through the night. The vast majority of your friends sleep through the night. Your entire family sleeps through the night. Everyone at church sleeps through the night. But you don't. At first, a number of years ago, you were really frustrated about not sleeping through the night, and the frustration was compounded by people consistently asking questions as to your ability to sleep. Have you tried medication? Have you turned all your screens off before bed? Do you exercise? Do you drink caffeine in the afternoon? The fact of the matter is, you do all the things you're supposed to do, but you still wake up in the middle of the night, for apparently no reason. You're confused and frustrated, so you pray. The next night, when it happens again, you pray. Soon, waking up in the night has changed from a time of frustration to a time of worship and gett

4 Ways to Help Single People

It is very likely that not all single people will completely agree with the list I'm about to share with you, because no two people are alike, but I've heard similar things from single people that I follow online and think it will be helpful to share these. If nothing else, let this post lead you to have conversations with the single people in your life and find out what would be helpful to them. 1. Hug Them I'll admit, I'm not much of a hugger, but a few months ago another woman I follow recommended to her audience that they begin hugging their single friends and I've been thinking about it since. Now (due to a change in my life) I'm seeing certain friends more often than I had been, and I am also receiving more hugs; this is good for me . In particular, it is good for me that one of my guy friends often gives me a hug when I see him. I don't mean that in a sensual sense, I mean it in a brotherly sense. The quick hug he offers tells me that I am seen, I

by jot and tittle

Search This Blog