There are four parts of winter in the Midwest. There is fall-winter, Christmas-winter, winter-winter, and mud-winter.  Fall-winter is what happens when it snows on Halloween, when you realize you need a serious coat, when the sharpness of the air starts to take your breath away.  Christmas-winter is when you dream of snowflakes and relish twinkle lights, the cold air heavy with holiday anticipation.  Winter-winter is when it’s cold and dark, and then it gets colder.  Mud-winter promises a hint of spring, but is still cold and bleak, and ridiculously muddy.

Mud-winter turns into mud-spring, but that’s another topic entirely.

I anticipate fall-winter, pulling out cozy sweaters and delighting in hot beverages.  I absolutely love Christmas-winter, and practically beg God for snow.  I am embarrassed to admit that I’ve even complained that it wasn’t cold enough in Christmas-winter.

But things take a sharp downward turn for me in winter-winter.  I know the days have already started getting longer, but somehow it doesn’t feel like it.  The world feels gray and barren and so so cold.  January through March can be very challenging months.  Many of us experience more sadness and anxiety, somehow feeling trapped by the gray skies and claustrophobic in the cold.   Holidays and vacations and fun feel very far away. This is all exponentially more intense in The Time of Covid.

A few years ago, I decided to actively combat the winter-winter blues.  I started by recognizing that not all winter is hard for me; I actually really like some parts of winter.  Narrowing down the months that are challenging allowed me to more fully enjoy the parts of winter that I naturally appreciate.

I declared winter-winter its own season.  If fall-winter is about the sharp change of season and fall fun, Christmas-winter is about Christmas, and mud-winter is about the hope of spring, I needed winter-winter to be about something too.  I decided that for me, winter-winter would be about warmth, coziness, and slowing down.

I love decorating my house and I have fun decorations for fall and Christmas.  I spend so much time outside in the spring and summer, that I invest energy in making our outdoor spaces beautiful and welcoming in those seasons.  But winter felt bland, and so I decided to specifically decorate for winter.  I keep up a lot of the greenery I use for Christmas, but take down the red and gold accents.  I leave up some twinkle lights.  I focus on making things as warm and cozy as I possibly can.  Recognizing this season as something worth decorating for and enjoying has helped me to appreciate it more.

I focus on eating more seasonally and add winter vegetables like Brussel sprouts, carrots, and winter squash to the menu.  I cook more soups and drink more tea.  I light our dining room candles more often.  I have a small obsession with very warm socks and cozy blankets, and I am intentional about enjoying these things every day.

I make myself get outside.  I snowshoe if I can, an activity that is only available in winter and that I deeply enjoy. I go on walks. I intentionally celebrate the beauty of dancing snowflakes, the vivid sunrises, the stillness of moonlight in the winter, and the tree branches heavy with snow and ice.

I light lots of candles, diffuse oils, and take baths.  I read wintery books.  I give myself permission to spend more time sitting on the couch and reading then I do any other time of year, and count this as a perk of the slower, darker season.  I try to add intentionality to my days, focusing on being cozy and connected and in rhythm with the world around me.

It’s ok if you don’t enjoy decorating your house or drinking tea or snowshoeing.  There is still a way for you to enjoy winter-winter, to do more than just survive these months.  Think about this time as its own separate season, a time of the year that offers opportunities and gifts that are only available now.  What do you want winter-winter to be about for you?  What does it mean for you to live seasonally from January to March? What can you intentionally find delight in?  What can you do to celebrate winter-winter instead of merely suffering through it?