Enjoying Michigan Winters

It's tradition in Michigan that this time of the year is prime time for complaining about the weather. As I move through my day, visiting the grocery store, dry cleaners, mall or vet, I hear the same thing repeated again and again. 'How are you doing?' I ask. 'OK, except for the [freezing, gloomy, snowy, icy...insert your own adjective here] weather. I don't think I can make it until spring...winter is so long!'. When I tell people that I actually like winter, I am regarded with suspicion. I'm not following the party line. Worst of all, though, is listening to the weather reports on TV, which hearken thoughts of the apocolypse whenever a snowfall is expected. So I gave up on TV weather long ago. Couldn't take the drama.

I'd like to suggest that our weather isn't all that bad, and perhaps we (shall I say it?) exaggerate a bit. Keep in mind that right now, early January, that days are actually getting longer. It is cold, but unless you don't have a home, I'm guessing most of us are adequately warm most of the time. And can I suggest you look at how other people around the world handle weather to gain some perspective? For example, I lived in Tokyo for a number of years, and they have a typhoon season that lasts from August through to mid-October. One day early in my stay I looked out my window and saw a green sky with high winds whipping the rain horizontally. I had to be somewhere for a meeting about 1/2 hour walk away, and since I had no car, as most people did not, I assumed the meeting was canceled (wimpy Michigan person that I am). When I called my Japanese friend to make sure my assumption was correct, I found that not only was the meeting on, but that she was a bit puzzled as to why I was even calling.

So there was a big lesson for me. Don't worry about the weather! Throughout my years in Tokyo, I walked everywhere (often in a dress and heels) in all weather conditions, and found that, surprise, it wasn't all that bad. I learned to bring along a handkerchief to sometimes wipe off my legs, kept an umbrella with me, and came to accept that my hair was going to have some bad days.

Another discovery was that being outside year-round did great things for my spirits. I recognized that in the USA I usually moved from cubicle (home) to cubicle (car) without fresh air intake, and perhaps this wasn't the best thing for me. So when we moved back, we began biking and walking more. Tom is still biking, even into January, for part of his commute downtown. And although I'm more of a 3-season biker, I have recently picked up a new form of exercise, swimming, that is also wonderful for lifting my spirits in a cold Michigan January. There's something about being in contact with the elements (fresh air or water) that must be a fundamental need of ours.

So, right now in the middle of a [can we try the word 'beautiful'?] Michigan winter, let's relax and enjoy each season our wonderful state has to offer. Our Tuesday group is going to be discussing various topics that are winter-related these coming weeks, and feel free to join us. We start next Tuesday with ice-removal and humidifiers, and will also tackle dressing for the weather, hibernation/need to sleep in winter (including food cravings), setting up a comfortable winter environment, seasonal cultural expectations, and inspirational reading.