When you turn on the weather report, the newscaster almost always defaults to a positive sentiment when a warm-up is coming in the dead of winter.
And this weekend we can expect some much milder temperatures of nearly 60 degrees! Get out there and enjoy it because we’ll be back down in the 40s at the beginning of the week.
Wow, the oppressive 40s. Whatever shall we do? B says that I shouldn’t get so worked up over the weatherman’s obvious bias against the cold because I’m in the minority in my preference for frigid temperatures.
So, I liked Iceland. A lot.
I am sentimental about cold weather. Driving and trudging through the snow isn’t enjoyable per se, but it’s the hallmark of the season and it makes me feel a bit more primal. I grew up in the Memphis area where we occasionally got snow and cold temperatures in the winter, but I certainly can’t say that I grew up in a “snow culture”. In order to compensate and fill that gap in my heart for biting temperatures and snow drifts (and to get another degree), I moved to Chicago when I was 21.
I got my fill. I learned what kind of boots work best, how to dig out my car from a three foot snow drift, what it feels like to sincerely think that your nose and ears are on the verge of becoming detached from your face. I fell on patches of ice too many times to count. In the middle of crosswalks on busy intersections wearing knee-high boots and dresses. I was, errr, fashionable (?)
While I was converting my Facebook page to Timeline the other day, I came across an old status update where I had written, “I honestly don’t know what kind of masochist I am that I willfully moved to a place that is capable of being this cold.” But something about the clattering old radiators in our apartment seemed to have made it alright.
We only had street parking and it was difficult to get a decent spot after a big snow. One Christmas Eve, I left the house in the morning to do the holiday grocery shopping. I was gone for about an hour and a half. In the time I was gone, B had spotted an Explorer-sized vacancy right in front of the building, dug it out, and then held sentry duty on it until I returned. Seeing the big, snow-less spot and my husband just standing in it when I returned, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was a mighty, mighty good man.
The beautiful courtyard of our apartment in Chicago
Then we moved to Seoul. Korea had some serious winters while we were there, and unlike Chicago, there wasn’t an infrastructure in place to really deal with it. The whole country often seemed to be paved in polished marble that, once moistened with rain or ice, made any attempt at walking at a reasonable pace impossible. Shopkeepers didn’t spread salt or sand on their icy stoops; instead they just impacted it more by dubiously sweeping it away with a broom. It was bizarre.
We had a couple of days at school that were cancelled because of the snow. Those days were made up on Saturday.
Did it annoy us? Well duh, yeah, but for some reason it was OK. On the morning of the snow holiday, we had woken to that ethereal stillness and quiet of snow that we had forgotten existed until we got to experience it again that morning.
Seoul traffic coping
It makes me a little sad when it feels like spring when it’s supposed to be winter. Actually, not a little sad. Very sad. I just love the winter so much. Today in my town it is 73 degrees, and it’s the first day of February. This winter has marked the first in years when I haven’t worn boots, gloves, earmuffs, hats, and double-lined socks at all. I wore my coat when we were in Memphis for Christmas, but since returning to North Carolina, it’s been hanging on the back of a chair.
It feels pleasant outside, but I’d kindly prefer it to be May or June. Right now I just want to be cold. Although this is partly because I’m at 31 weeks and I’m constantly getting overheated, I really do want to feel like winter didn’t pass me by this year.
The Waiting 
I like the cold and LOVE the snow. My husband, a native Angelino, hates cold, snow, rain, and pretty much anything that isn’t 75 and sunny. Silly guy.
Yeah, it is kind of an acquired taste. But anyone can acquire it :)
Huh…when did you get into Oklahoma? We should have lunch. On what’s apparently the first day of spring. On February 1. When it should be snowing. Not 70 fracking degrees.
Bitter? No, I’m not bitter.
Yeah, it seems kind of funny that we’re even going through the motions of Groundhog Day this year. I think it’s pretty clear that spring is making itself good and comfortable and won’t be delayed.
I, too, am wishing for a REAL winter. A nice, cold, kill-the-biting-bugs-in-their-lairs freeze. Please?
We should do a snow dance together :)
RIGHT?! This winter sucks. It’s 70 gosh darn degrees out and I am dying for a blizzard. This was the first brown Christmas in Minnesota I can EVER remember. I just feel so…empty. And bummed – playing with the dog in the snow is one of my favorite things and we’ve both missed out.
I can’t believe your husband didn’t utilize the lawn-chair-in-the-parking-space! It’s a Chicago tradition and rite of passage!
YES IT IS! Ah, I had completely forgotten about the lawnchairs in the parking spaces! He probably would’ve gone and gotten one once he was done shoveling the space out but decided against it because someone would have brutally swooped into his space in the one minute that he left it alone.
I agree, what’s all this attitude that hot weather is better than cold. Hot just makes you all sweaty. Cold, you can always put on more layers and have hot drinks. It’s very unfashionable here to prefer cold weather but I do! Bring it on!
That’s what I’ve always said! I HATE being all sweaty and any chance I can get to make hot chocolate, I’ll take it!
I refuse to ‘like’ this… I am enjoying Chicago without snow in January/February… LOL
LOL It was easy to write this post knowing that I definitely WON’T be having to trudge around in that semi-melted black tar slush anytime soon. You remember the good things ;)
I am where I am for the heat – it suits my asthma & allergies, but this post made me wax nostalgic for Chicago (shhhh…don’t tell my fellow Southerners!). Thanks for the cool-off!
You will always maintain your anonymity here! No worries. :)
Love the cold, love the blog–hope you don’t mind I added it to my blogroll!
That is ALWAYS ok! Thank you very much and welcome!
I get sadder every year that I live without a true winter
It really puts a new spin on seasonal affective disorder.
Everything is so brown and brittle outside. Snow brings dimension back into the landscape and covers the dirty blemishes. I am wishing for a little bit more winter.***
*** as long as I don’t need to drive in it!
BTW, our best vacation ever was an October trip to Iceland. We swam outside in the darkness and falling snow, the pool heated by geothermic power.
Did you go to the Blue Lagoon? SOOO AWESOME! Loved every second of our time in Iceland. Did you take your kids?
It was a pre-kid vacation. Yes, we visited the most awesome and excellent Blue Lagoon. I still remember the silkiness of the mud in the Lagoon (mud doesn’t seem right word for what it is). Would love to go back.
Its good to see someone who can appreciate cold weather praising it! I heard a weatherman this week giving a ‘brrr’ sound for temperatures just below freezing… and we’re in the midst of a mild winter, that’s not cold at all for this region! Like you, I feel bad when I haven’t felt enough winter… nice reflections on your different experiences of the season.
Thank you very much for your kind comments! Thanks for stopping in! :)
The hubs is definitely a keeper! I am not a winter lover, but I want to have one none-the-less! Angie
Yep, he’s not bad by any stretch of the imagination.
A solid winter just helps me appreciate the other seasons more. It gives me something to look forward to – whether it’s a forthcoming spring warm-up or a nice fall cool-down.
[…] for it to actually get dusky. Try it; it will mess with your brain. Summer is not my favorite and I prefer snow to sweat, but there is one thing about the summer that has always been fun, if not a little […]