Season offers unique charm
By Forest Lassman
Winter technically starts in December, but if you step outside right now, it’s hard to tell. Snow has already hit, and the feeling is already gone in my toes.
Winter is the part of the year that humans weren’t made for. The weather is so hostile you have to retreat into your house and sit next to whatever produces the most heat. The cold weather fights you at every turn. The short days limit what you can do, and the color fades away. Plants die and so does the engine of your car.
The summer may melt your brain, but the winter just freezes it, stopping it from moving until you go insane.
I love avoiding the non-carpeted areas of my house. I love pulling out my blankets and setting them up in strategic areas of the house, and I love the frantic rush to get a log outside so I can start the fire.
I know part of this love may be slight Stockholm syndrome from suffering through the torturous days, but some of it is genuine love.
One of the reasons for that love is due to the fact that everything slows down in the winter. Since going outside is deadly at times, we sit inside all day. This allows time to relax to get things done. I’ve read the most books and finished the most movies in the winter. We are able or rather, forced to finish massive projects this time of year, and most of that is because we aren’t distracted by nice weather and sunshine.
Winter also gets a lot more comfortable. You have an excuse to wear the biggest and warmest clothes you have. You get an excuse to lay in bed, as the cats and dogs of the house start to cuddle with you more. Nothing feels better than a 10-minute shower in the middle of December.
It’s also an excuse to get together with other people, and to give gifts. We have a string of holidays to help us make it through the unpleasant winter. We get bonuses at work and we get to eat tasty, warm food. This is all to try and make up for the horrible weather outside, and for the most part, it works. Even with the god-awful environment, December has the lowest suicide rate of any month.
Finally, winter is the time to reflect. While waiting inside, we have a lot of time to think about what we will do when we are free from it. It’s a time of rebirth with the snow creating a clean slate for us.
Change is good, and winter is when the world transforms the most. Snow changes all of our familiar places. It doesn’t destroy, it just alters. New paths are created, and the past is hidden. Life is constantly changing, and winter is the time we get to remember that.
Also, “Die Hard” was set in the winter, so winter wins.