Learning how to love the colder months

Learning how to love the colder months has been my biggest achievement this last autumn and winter. As spring makes its way, I reflect on how I did it.

Today the sun felt warmer as I lay on my sun lounger, coffee in hand and dog sat besides me. I could feel the first signs of spring in our morning walk with Whisky. Snowdrops on full display, birds singing, new foliage on early spring plants. I even spotted a bumble bee that surely had just emerged from hibernation.

At the same time spring feels a long way away. Cold days are still ahead of us and the wood burner will feature most nights, at least for the whole of February. Jackets will be worn, as well as gloves and woolly hats. Weekends will still invite hot chocolates by the fire as well as hearty stews cooked in the Crockpot. It’s definitely not salad season and it won’t be for a while.

I always dreaded the cold but this year I decided to embrace what nature had to offer rather than resist it. It felt so much better!

Commit to enjoy all seasons

Growing up I was never very fond of autumn or winter. Uruguayans don’t like winter. Nothing happens in winter in Uruguay. We all stay at home sitting by the fire, watching films and waiting for better days to come. When I moved to the UK I started hating autumn and winter even more. Autumn because I swapped celebrating my birthday in the height of the spring – usually with a BBQ outdoors – to the gloom of short days and cold evenings that October brings. Winter felt interminable, especially January and February when the joy of Christmas and New Year has worn out. To add slat to injury, my friends back home are all enjoying their beach holidays and endless BBQs. It’s their turn to have the good life and my turn to wait. I am not very patient and suffer from FOMO.

This year I decided to shift my perspective. I was going to enjoy autumn and winter. How did I do it?

I did cheat. I went home to celebrate my birthday with a BBQ and good weather. I also went to Tenerife for Christmas and New Years Eve. These were for a total of three weeks, though. To enjoy the colder months I had to embrace them. I told myself I would enjoy autumn and winter. This is how I did it.

Tune in with nature

Things start to slow down in autumn as days get shorter and colder. Most people rely on Halloween and the build up to Christmas to cheer themselves up during this time. I also have my birthday to look forward to.

I am not very good at celebrating so this strategy does not work for me – I just cannot get excited about putting up a Christmas tree! Even if put all my energy into these celebrations, we’ve still got January and February to deal with.

This year I therefore decided to connect with nature. During the start of Autumn we had apples and pears to harvest from the garden. It was such a treat! I also spent autumn walking in woodlands with my dog. Admiring the different shades of yellows, browns and golds. Looking for red berries in hedges – from rose hips to hawthorn. Noticing nature made me appreciate it more.

There is less of nature during January and February. January brought us snow. This was the first time Whisky saw snow. He didn’t know whether to eat it or roll in it, it was hilarious.

There were some walks in awful weather. The worse one was in a yellow alert with wind and pouring rain. My rain proof jacket was being tested to its limits. I remember bumping into a fellow dog owner, she looked at me and said: “I am also walking the dog, we are mad!”. I kept those outings shorter than my normal walks and I tried to be grateful for having gone out, even it is wasn’t for a very long time.

February already shows the first signs of spring. I always get super excited at the first sight of snowdrops. Days are longer too. It’s all an upward journey from here!

Enjoy the simple things

Enjoying the simple things is something we can do year long but it feels quite right during the winter months. They invite us to slow down.

In January I embraced having baths. I am normally too impatient for them but I forced myself to slow down, just as nature had. Lighting some candles and listening to relaxing music whilst in the bath was a real treat.

It was also a great time to use the Crock Pot and cook heart warming stews. Trying out recipes and playing with different herbs is always fun. Instead of jumping into dieting mode as soon as the year started, I also had some hot chocolates as a treat – it certainly cheered me up.

The wood burner always brings me joy during the colder months. There is something special about watching wood burn. It is usually my other half who is in charge of lighting the fire. This year I set myself the goal to light the fire when he was not around. I had some smokey attempts but my technique improved.

This year I also read about the moon, its phases and moon magic. I then spent the winter months following the moon. Looking up to the sky helped spark my sense of awe. It’s so beautiful.

Lastly, I napped every now and then on weekends. Where I come from it is normal for people to nap, especially on weekends. Since I moved to the UK I haven’t been napping at all. I saw it as lazy. This winter as I tried to slow down by reading a book, I found myself falling asleep by the fire. My body clearly needed it. I didn’t feel guilty about it.

Declutter

It is not spring cleaning season but spending more time indoors meant I had a chance to go through things and decide what to keep and what to hand down.

I also spent more time cleaning the house.

During spring I tend to spend as much of my free time as I can in the garden. I don’t want to be indoors – plants need me! I therefore find winter a better time to declutter.

Spring and summer are still my favourite seasons. I cannot deny it. As the days become longer, there is hope in the air. Hope of warmer and longer days to come.

Even though I am excited about the prospect of longer and warmer times I truly enjoyed autumn and winter this time around. This is because I decided to embrace both seasons and enjoy what they have to offer rather than resist them.

I believe that the longer I spend in nature the more I cherish all of it.