Staying warm in the bitter cold

Cold equals misery in my book.

During the winter, I am forced to get up 20 minutes earlier than usual to be greeted by the cold and a car that doesn’t want to start. Once it does start, I continue my morning ritual by brushing and scraping the snow and ice from my windshield. If I am very lucky, the wind isn’t blowing during the whole process. Just writing about it makes me cringe.

However, despite being frostbit every morning, I enjoy this time of year for reasons I don’t quite understand. But I can make a good guess.

When I was a kid, winter weather meant something completely different than it does now. As a kid, winter meant snow and snow meant sledding, snow ball wars and making snow forts/snow men. Now, winter is nothing but bitter-cold wind and treacherous icy roads. But the memories of what winter was still sticks with me, and I think that’s how I am able to stay warm, even with ice cycles hanging out of my nose.

My best memories of the holidays were with my dad. He isn’t the most joy-filled person in the world, but when Christmas comes around, I think his days get a litter brighter. To this day, he plays Christmas music 24/7. I remember that. I remember driving into town with my dad while listening to a cassette tape with about 10 Christmas tracks on it.

My dad also used to talk about what Christmas was like when he was a kid. He would tell me and my siblings about his dad, and what he would do for Christmas. I remember asking my dad to tell those stories over and over again.

He would take us sledding, take us to cut down the Christmas tree and even would make us hot chocolate.

Now, when I am in the midst of the freezing cold, I don’t think about the cold. I think about the memories of Christmas.

However, the cold weather is not the only culprit during the holidays. A lot of people begin to feel anxiety and stress during the holidays. I have experienced it. I've seen studies that explain being around family members causes this stress, and I think there is some truth to that. Going home for Christmas and seeing my family can be overwhelming. But, at the same time, I love seeing my family.

Getting to see them and hang out with them is always refreshing.

If you are one of those who gets overwhelmed during the holidays, I would say just stay calm, and try to remember the good times during Christmas. I think most of you have at least one good memory from the holidays that you cherish. I hope all of you are keeping calm and staying warm this unusually cold week.