Find joy in the snow

Saying, "If you choose not to find joy in the snow you will have less joy in your life but still the same amount of snow"

The snow keeps falling in an endless sea of white. Tiny feathery flakes fall in slow motion, causing the minutes and hours to tick by slowly. Winter in all its glory grips the landscape in its icy grasp.

There is something rhythmic and pleasing to falling snow. The world is gentle. Silent. Peaceful. The creatures of the forest seek shelter and rest, waiting for the storm to pass so they can emerge from their dens.

The snowflakes increase in size, the size of peas. I catch them on my tongue. Bentley is covered in white.  

I usually love winter, but a few weeks ago, I said to Dave I’m done with winter. It has worn me down.

I become nostalgic, missing the days when a fresh snowfall was an excuse to go out and play with my children and celebrate winter’s bounty: skating on a frozen lake, racing down our driveway on toboggans, and building snowmen in the yard.

I spy an icicle on the side of my barn. My inner child seizes it and takes a hard, crunchy bite. It’s so brittle, it almost chips my weathered, withered teeth. The cold chunk melts in my mouth slowly as I savour the coolness on my throat and mouth. It’s so cold outside, when I take a second bite, the icy chunk sticks to my lips for a nanosecond.

The snow continues to fall and I realize I am fighting a lost cause. Better to embrace it.

As the saying goes, if you choose not to find joy in the snow, you will have less joy in your life, but still the same amount of snow.

Dog covered in snow

Bentley our weatherforecaster, me catching snowflakes and the view from our back deck. Winter is one of the most peaceful and beautiful times on our lake.

Woman catching snowflakes
Snow-laden trees beside a lake

Six winter cures to get you through the rest of January and February

My friend looking at a shark

It’s deep in the heart of January. I look out my window and see dullish grey skies, and a heavy blanket of melting snow and ice from a week of ice storms and rain. It’s the very definition of blah.

If you’re one of the lucky ones, you have a trip booked south to some spectacular warm destination with sandy white beaches, crystal azure waters and breathtaking blue skies.

If you’re one of the unlucky ones staring down another two solid months of cold and grey, I offer you these winter cures guaranteed to lift your spirts.

  1. Grab your swimsuit and the kids, and spend the afternoon at your local indoor pool. If you have some money to splurge, find one with an indoor waterpark or slides—we used to take the kids to Great Wolf Lodge and always found an afternoon inside the warm, balmy swim park as the snow gently fell on the domed glass the ultimate cure for the winter blahs
  2. Have a hot toddy or specialty coffee, the perfect COVID cure. Our “go to” in the winter months is an Irish coffee with Bushmills and Baileys—the perfect combo
  3. Channel your inner Scandinavian and have a spa or sauna day. Check out Nordik spa in Gatineau or Stoked Sauna Co., a new sauna experience in Kingston on the patio of the Frontenac Club that offers sauna and outdoor firepits for cooling off
  4. Plan a day at an indoor garden, conservatory or aquarium. The Butterfly Conservatory in Niagara, Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto or Aquatarium in Brockville are all excellent options (read my blog posts Discover an undersea world and Play tourist in your own town for more)
  5. Get creative and sign up for a local arts workshop. We are very fortunate to have a world-class arts facility right in the heart of Kingston, the Tett Centre for Creativity and Learning. Check out their line-up of winter workshops with offerings like this one “Make a live edge charcuterie board” with local wood artist Nick Allinson
  6. Splurge on a scrumptious night out. Kingstonlicious is on now and features signature and tableau d’hote meals at some of Kingston finest restaurants. Check out the $60 tableau d’hote menu at Chez PIggy featuring roasted dry-brined chicken with peasant salad or the three-course meal for two for $60 at Harper’s Burger Bar featuring nan’za, lamb curry, and coconut alfajores. 

This week’s #HappyAct is to choose your ultimate winter cure. Be sure to check in next week for #7 on the list!

Girls looking at fish from a porthole

Clare and her friends looking at fish from the porthole at the Aquatarium in Brockville