A Case for Wintertime
An offering of help for Weather Complainers™ and a reminder homemakers can set the dark months' ambiance.
It has never become not strange to me when someone starts doing a little bit of Weather Complaining™. It’s the boring talk of the unintelligent and sinful. Some women nearly make disliking cold (during winter) and grieving that summer will end (during summer) their whole personality. First, stop complaining about the weather.
Second, be a great homemaker during the winter! If your children are tempted to complain (but I doubt they will be if you don’t model Weather Complaining™), mothers are a perfect person to lift the mood.
“Seasonality is good for the soul. Winter, a time of withdrawal and rest, is good for humanity. We fool ourselves by pretending we should live in eternal summer.”
Or, as Grace put it, “Wanting winter to be like summer or spring is like wanting your middle age or old age to be like your youth. Spend time embracing mortality with gratitude.”
The dark months are quiet. Welcome the lengthened evenings. I have written down some ideas of what to love about the wintertide.
The peace of watchfulness
Snow reflects bright and cheery daylight inside the house
Down-home pleasures like closing the curtains at nightfall
Experimenting cooking ambitious and exquisite entrees
Creating clean and comfortable places for resting
Good blankets
Meaningful work to do, quiet but not idle
The calm
The practice of death and resurrection
Learning to like times of trial
A long reading list
Reading aloud through a book
Caring for the ill and the opportunities it creates
The ease of shelter
Warm-toned lightbulbs in table lamps and as many candles as you can afford
Snowy walking
Comradery
Folding warm laundry
Knitting a scarf for each of your children
Reading poems
Keeping a light against darkness
Making soups
Music playing, my daughters and I love listening to our favorite songs by The Andrews Sisters in the wintertime while we deep clean a room
Wearing the love of my family like a crown
Homestyle baked treats
The keeper of the home is friendly and available to talk
“It was so wonderful to be there, safe at home, shelter from the winds and the cold. Laura thought that this must be a little like heaven, where the weary are at rest.”
Laura Wilder, The Long Winter
I love 7 and 25 :) was always intimidated by making bread at home, but this winter I finally made small batch bread for the first time 🍞 it was worth the wait.
And I love the attitude of how to approach winter. It's a hard and long season, but it does have a purpose. Waiting, reflecting and nurturing are all aspects of life that need to have their place. Thanks for the post