It’s March, a notoriously unloved month, and I can feel us moving into a new phase of winter. The days are getting noticeably longer: in Amsterdam, the sun is setting after 6pm. In the planters outside my window, the hyacinths are shooting up, and seem to be growing impossibly fast. Neighborhood parks are dotted with daffodils and covered in crocuses (my favorite). In the U.S., the clocks will spring forward in less than two weeks, and then the days will feel really long (in Europe, we have to wait until the end of the month). When the sun is shining, spring feels very near.
But this month is a notorious tease. Just weeks ago, my parents’ house in New Jersey was covered in snow. Tricked by the sunshine and intermittent (semi) warmth, I’ve recently been lulled into leaving the house without my layers - and suffered coldly as a result. This back and forth can be frustrating. Maybe you did a great job embracing winter for the last several months, and now feel you’ve done enough. Are you over it? Are you ready to move on?
And isn’t that just the thing? Alas, winter still has more lessons to teach us. How can we learn to respond when we’re over it - when we feel like we’ve done okay, but now it’s just too much? We’re good at taking one, maybe two sick days - we deserve a break! - but when we’re sick for a week, or two, or more, the frustration grows by the hour. A small dose of challenge - a chance to grow. A prolonged exposure? Too annoying to allow us to maintain our can-do attitude.
We can’t control when the weather really warms, or when spring comes. Our patience running thin doesn’t hasten the change of the season. But it does rob us of the chance to find the last bits of winter wonder. Our eagerness for spring distracts us from the fact that our time for evening candlelight grows meager. Our wishing for the next season steals the chance to savor our favorite hearty winter foods, to have a few more fires, to relish the cold night air and wearing our favorite sweaters and coats.
As the season turns, watch for spring with delight: take note of all the ways it is coming, it’s on its way: the little green shoots and buds, the later sunsets, the days when you can trade your heavy jacket for that one really cute, thin coat that you can wear like twice a year. But also: keep it up. The things that have helped you find comfort this winter can provide a bit more joy on the days when we find ourselves faced with the fact that it’s…still winter! Try to burn up your candles. Make your favorite soup one more time. Go for a blue-hour walk. Keep bundling up so you’re comfortable in the cold . Practice staying with the season you’re in for as long as you’re in it.
I want to hear how you find the joy in “still winter.” What are you holding on to for a few more weeks? Let me know in the comments below, and you can also always reach me directly at kari@karileibowitz.com.
Notes from the slush pile:
Shoulder season is when it’s just the right temperature to crack my bedroom window open at night, bundle under the covers, and sleep in the fresh, cold air. In Austria, the practice of airing out rooms - in any season - is referred to as lüften, and is especially important before bed.
This meme on the power of perspective:
Helen Russell’s new book, How To Raise a Viking, on Nordic parenting, is out now to rave reviews. In The Guardian, she writes about lessons she’s learned about parenting while living as a Brit in Denmark, featuring a quote from yours truly about the importance of frilufstliv and getting outside in all weather.
Our weather has been a roller coaster. I tried to tell the flock of robins in the yard that winter wasn’t over. They didn’t seem to care. We are sitting in front of the fire and soup is on the stove.And, daffodils are up, trees in bud so I know Spring will be coming. I just need to be patient.
I have also tried skipping the hat and gloves believing that would somehow bring on Spring! But “Still Winter” is not playing along - it wants to be noticed and recognized. Still Winter is still potent!