WINTER IS WEIRD

A friend came to the door today to pick me up for a walk, and when I opened the door for her, I laughed! I could hear her snow pants swishing each time she took as step, and she was wearing a parka over that. She had warm boots on her feet, a tuque on her head, and expedition mittens on her hands. This would have been totally reasonable winter wear on many occasions, but I had checked the weather in advance for the occasion of this walk. Sleet is where I draw the line, although it’s not much fun when it’s minus twenty with windchill. If you do dress properly, you can’t really hear each other talk!

In this case, it was just a couple degrees below zero, and it was going to melt in just a few hours. I am glad this friend doesn’t hold grudges, because she laughed it off when I commented. Still, I wore my lightest coat, with medium gloves and a coat, but by the end of our walk, I was sorry that I had a vest over my long sleeve shirt. I was feeling warm!

Later that day, another friend asked me how I was weathering the blizzards. I wrote her back, “In our day, we just called it snow!” This was not the first time this week that I had been asked about it. I get it. If I was a long distance trucker, I would try and plan my routes around the winter storms. But for a commute downtown, and a home with a moderate sized driveway, these “winter storms” that are called for sometimes days in advance, really just feel like, on the ground, that it is finally snowing.

The game is to know when to clean your snow, and when you are wasting time. I have a retired neighbour who cleans any snow any time, usually very early in the morning. He doesn’t need to be efficient. Another retired neighbour who had mobility issues after a stroke before he died had the opposite tack. He would only clear his walkway if it was worth the effort. He knew that it was better to leave snow than uncovering the slick ice rink underneath it after frozen rain. 

I have started to park my car, without fail, nose to the street, with only a few feet ahead, to allow for the hard pack snow that inevitably gets pushed up in hills at the bottom of my driveway by the city. There are tricks to this. Best to get it in warm weather. The snow is heavy, but if you get home late from work, or are not paying attention, and the soft heavy snow turns solid, you have an insurmountable ridge of ice that tears at the undercarriage of your car.

The street cleaning is another issue. As much as love how well our streets are cleaned in the suburbs compared to the city, there is no respecting the silence of winter. It is nearly midnight, and, like too many a sleepless pre-night sleep, or interrupted short sleep post evenings or pre-early mornings, I hear the repeated loud racing of a snow blower down the street. Every year these sleep deprived speeding maniacs kill a number of innocent pedestrian because of their recklessness. They sure have ruined many  a good sleep in the ten second run they take at the snow, late at night, or in the early morning, when the world is otherwise in its most peaceful season.

They sit in short sleeves, idling their cabs, polluting the world for our convenience. How I long for the days where the roads were blocked until people were able to shovel themselves out. As long as I am able, I will stick to the quiet carbon neutral habit of shovelling the snow.

SEASONAL INSPIRATION: WINTER WISDOM

 WINTER WISDOM

Today is another day where the sun stands still (solstice), and it will be the shortest day of the year.  In our Northern Hemisphere, this is the day that we are the most tilted away from the sun. Paradoxically, we are also nearing our closest location to the sun during our yearly orbit. It is this paradox that I want to highlight for this first instalment of the Wellness Seasonal Inspiration.

Tonight will be the darkest night, and some us will feel this. Seasonal depression is on a spectrum, and the lack of sunshine can be hard on a lot of us. Be kind to yourself. If you don’t feel like celebrating, you don’t have to. Take a moment to reflect. Light a candle. Make a sacred space. Be engulfed in the darkness, and know that you can walk through it. Look up to the stars on a clear night. Bundle up and get outdoors. Cuddle up with something warm, and stay inside. Sleep earlier, and longer, if you can. Take a moment, and accept the darkness. It is part of our lives. 

If none of this resonates, please talk to someone. Tell a loved one. Talk to a colleague. Book a therapy session. Call the PAMQ (514-397-0888). Come to the ER if you need to. Tell a stranger. Acknowledge your state of mind to yourself, get a second opinion, and seek help if you are depressed, burnt out, tapped out, exhausted, suicidal or homicidal. 

Like the paradoxal locations during the Sun and Earth’s orbits, although it can be dark, it also has a lot to offer.

SUNRISES AND SUNSETS

Enjoy the ease of seeing each sunrise and sunset, conveniently available during normal waking hours, if those exist! Let the sunset signal a winding down, whether you are napping pre-night, or going to bed for a day shift the next day. Enjoy the sunrise on the way east, and the sunset on the way west. Take a look outside, or go for a walk when the room brightens or darkens. You might be pleasantly surprised!

SLEEP

Remember that our society at large is under-slept, and very few of us are any different. Sleep is a natural preoccupation for anyone who works shift work. Remember that winter in our local climate makes many aspects easier. Plan to get an extra hour or two under the blanket of darkness that is the norm for the winter season. Sleep in if you can. On your days off, wake up with the sunlight instead of setting an alarm. Sleep studies show that excessive heat disrupts quality and quantity of sleep. This will not be a problem for months!

SNOW SPORTS

Find a winter sport that you enjoy, and do it. With the right clothing, and a good day, exercise outdoors is can be more comfortable, with less sweating, and decreased risk of dehydration (snow is always available, but not always recommended). Bundle up and go for a brisk walk. It has been beautiful with our recent snow, and each snow will be a little different. Make new tracks in a local park. Make a snow angel or build a snow creature, even if there are no kids around! 

If the sun has set, remember that this is the time of year that the stars are the best to view. Especially if you are away with a dark sky, but even if you are on the island, look up! Let your eyes adjust to the dark, and see what you can see. Find Orion with his arrow loaded on his bow, Draco thrashing its tail, Cassiopeia seated on her throne, Cygnus flying high above, and the lumbering Ursae. If you don’t have a clue what they are, buy a sky map, load an app or visit the planetarium. 

SNOW DAYS

Even if you have snow cleaning services, or the weather isn’t so frightful, when you have a day off, you can claim a snow day. Stay indoors. Read a book. Pick up a passion that you dropped in the active days of summer and fall. Create art or music. Do a puzzle. Play a board game. Sit around chatting with a hot drink and warm blanket. Write a poem, a story, a novel. Do something novel. Do something you love. Do something just for yourself.

GIVING SPIRIT

From the Yuletide to our current holidays, human history has mixed awe and celebration at this time of year. It’s a good time to remember how much it means when others think of us. What we do at work matters. We give a lot of ourselves at work. It’s easy to feel exhausted, and that we have no more to give. It’s easy to forget that giving is good for us too! Do make a point to reflect on how you can give outside of work too. Needs are year round, including our own. They don’t stop when the giving campaign ends. Many of you are already conscious of this. I am very proud that following the clothing drive of 2021, the stocks remain full, thanks to continued generous donations throughout the year, and the excellent management of great staff that go above and beyond. Thank you for thinking of the charities we use as resources, and for supporting the charities you value. Keeping doing something for others. 

As we approach the only time of year that one out of two weeks is a given, enjoy the time you have off. Take care of yourself, and take care of others. Take your vitamin D for the next few months. Embrace the benefits of the winter season when you can. If you can’t or just don’t want to, remember; This too shall pass. From this day forward, for the next six months, until the summer solstice, the days will only get longer and brighter. 

https://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/december-solstice.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3427038/

 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5446217/

https://www.realsimple.com/health/preventative-health/benefits-of-reading-real-books

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6174231/

https://vitotechnology.com/news/how-to-choose-a-stargazing-app-2021

LIVING WITH MY TEEN

 Living with my teen is much like living with my cat. She is around on her terms, and needs me very little, except to be fed and sheltered

Yesterday, we went for a walk to the local Walmart. It was a cold walk, and we both walked quickly to keep warm. Rebecca walked faster than me, but slowed down if I asked. I needed the exercise, and she needed me to buy her tiny canvases for her year end works of art that she will give away to some who deserve it, and others who will trash it, unable to see her passion and value.

On the way home, we were cold and crossing the wind when I realized that a low curb had collected a few flakes of snow. Rebecca thought it was paint, but, as we walked, she noticed too that the cracks in the pavement were filled with white. As we waited for the light to turn, we could see the wind blowing a thin layer of snow in that lazy pattern that so often we chase on the highway in winter, when the air is dry and the weather is cold. 

In that instant, the cold was secondary, and the barriers between us fell. It was snowing, and it make the cold worthwhile. It elevated our spirits, and we ran across the street, excited by the change of season for the first time since the weather cooled.

Tonight, I fell the same thrill, with the moonshine spilling onto my bed. No other man made light can fall in through the window from such a height. I seek the moon like our hearts sought the snow. It is wonderful to be warm, but how wonderful to be connected to nature.