The Winter Blahs

After enduring the sniffles since, well about, September when I reentered the germy petri dish that is a high school, this last weekend my immune system finally said, "Enough!" and I got sick. I went from functioning relatively well on Sunday morning, to sinuses throbbing, nose dripping, ears plugged, by Sunday afternoon, and it's stuck around for the better part of this week. I might have thought that making it to the end of February meant I was in the clear for cold/flu season, but as February has brutally reminded us this week, it's still very much winter. And it might remain very much winter for a while yet.

On the one hand, I suppose it could be worse...I could live in New England and be buried under 8 feet of snow. At the same time, I look at Boston's forecast and see that it's going to be 30 there today, whereas when I drove to school this morning it was -15, so I think I might actually take 8 feet of snow to the sub-zero alternative.

I generally don't like this part of winter very much. I tolerate the first half of winter because Christmas is thrown into the mix, and it's charming to have a snowy, white Christmas. Then I deal with January because, well, it's January, and you expect January to be cold and miserable in the upper midwest, and I live here by choice...so I'll deal with it. But then February rolls around, and I start to think, "You know what, it's been since about the end of October since I've been able to comfortably run outside. And I can't get into my car in the morning without running it for five minutes first because it's torturous to drive to work otherwise. And it'd be nice not to put eight layers of clothes on before taking the dogs outside." And then I start to think about the fact that it can snow in February...and March...and that twice in the last two years it's snowed in May...and that all gets very depressing!

I've written about beating the winter blues before, especially in running and trying to maintain a training schedule. Then I was thinking back to last year, when it was exceptionally cold and miserable all the time, and we had 5 days off of school for very very cold weather, and every other week they were throwing around the words "Polar Vortex," and I wondered why it didn't seem to bother me as much as this stretch of winter sometimes does. Then I realized that just about every time I was told it was too cold to do anything, and I should just stay indoors under a blanket and wait for safer temperatures, J Word and I were zipping back and forth between Rochester and La Crosse. So, my new advice to beating the winter blues should probably be...fall in love. Fall in love between the start of February and the end of April, and completely distract yourself from the worst three months in the upper midwest!

Maybe this year my advice should be, plan a wedding? That's certainly taken enough of my time and energy, and assembling, addressing, sealing, stamping, etc. our invitations distracted me all of last weekend. So maybe I just need more artsy/crafty projects to keep me occupied until May.

A third suggestion might be to move somewhere warmer because as I look at my Facebook feed, I can count at least 8 people I know that have relocated to permanently warmer temps this year, and they've all been rubbing it in our midwestern faces since about December.

But assuming none of those things are actually guaranteed or sustainable. (I mean, being in love in winter is great too...and I'm still all for sharing a blanket and snuggling. But you probably shouldn't actually get engaged or plan your wedding just to avoid winter blues, and moving isn't realistic.) So here are my five "beat the winter blues right now" go to moments for this week. ...in case you ever need a pep talk to get yourself out of bed on a cold morning (like I do most days!)

1. Find a winter blues busting song. Mine is currently "Geronimo" by Sheppard, and I have unapologetically listened to it on repeat on a number of occasions when I needed a boost!

2. Use winter as an excuse to do the things that are even harder to excuse in summer. When it's nice outside, I have a really hard time justifying not going outside with the dogs, or not going for a run, or not spending indulging in a Netflix or movie marathon on the couch. So sometimes, in winter, the fact that the weather sucks is the perfect excuse to do the otherwise inexcusable!

3. Find a summer reminder. This doesn't have to be any big thing; this can be silly and stupid. I have a yellow band for my fitbit that I started wearing this winter instead of the slate blue one that it came with because slate blue is a winter color, and lemon yellow is a summer color, and so...well, like I said, it can be silly and stupid!

4. Find something to look forward to that can only happen in winter. Ice skating outdoors, snow days, cross country skiing, college basketball season, Valentine's Day, there are plenty of things that people get excited about that can only happen as a result of the winter season. So figure out a personal winter pastime or passion, and pursue it.

5. Eat warm delicious food. Use the oven! There will soon be days when it's 90 degrees, and cooking anything will sound torturous as you don't want to be anywhere near the stove, heat, or an oven. These are not those days. Use the stove. Make a pot of soup that warms the whole kitchen. Bake cookies and enjoy the warm, delicious smell that wafts through the house. Comfort food is dinner for the winter worn soul! Bon appetit!

Stay warm. Happy Trails,