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Why I Don’t Hate Minnesota Winters

Ellen Shriner

January 27, 2016
There are lots of reasons to hate Minnesota winters: endless discussions of windchill (Really, people?!? I’m already wearing all the clothes I’ve got. There isn’t more I can do. Stop talking about it. Please!) Crusty black snow clumps on my tires. Slippery-road roulette. Trudging with shoulders hunched and body braced to withstand the wind, to name a few. But I don’t hate our winters. To me, they’re refreshing. Seriously.

Very few aspects of modern life make us aware of our animal nature. The change of seasons pulls us back, reminds us that we’re participating in a cycle that’s bigger and more enduring than the words and images scrolling across our screens or appearing under our clicking fingers.

I’m not some cheery winter sports enthusiast who can’t wait to ski, skate, ice fish, or snowmobile. I don’t do any of those things. I might snowshoe if the sun’s out, the wind’s down, and it isn’t too cold, but otherwise, forget it. I’ll spend as little time outside as possible.

What’s winter’s big attraction?

To me, it’s a time to slow down, renew, and turn back toward health. After the excess of the holidays—too much good food and drink, too many incomplete To Do lists, and general year-end bizzyness, it feels good to do very little. To pull on thick wool socks and silk long johns. Make chili. Binge on Netflix.

I feel virtuous exercising. Eating crisp salads and savory vegetable soups have their ascetic charms. I’m restoring my body’s balance.

Winter is also a time to turn inward and refocus. I’m an optimist and like the idea of starting fresh every year. What do I want to do and be? How can I shuck off the stupid stuff I do and spend more time doing what I care about?

Recentering leads to other improvements—reading the books I never get around to (burrowing under an afghan with hot tea . . . or a hot toddy to make a dent in The Brothers Karamazov). Making sense of my sweater shelves.

Winter is also home improvement season. Better to paint the living room in the dead of winter than to waste a sunny June weekend on that. This year, I’m researching landscaping options since our shabby deck may get turned into a patio come spring. Winter is also a good time to tackle big projects like making a quilt. Weeks go by as I complete the many steps.

I do like winter, but by mid-March, my strategies are wearing thin.

Although the sun rises at 6:30 a.m. (at least it does before Daylight Savings Time toys with the clocks), the alley’s nothing but rutted ice. Crusty gray snow piles line the sidewalks and roads. I’m sick of keeping track of gloves and clumping around in boots. Tired of brushing salt dust off my coat. Hot cocoa and crackling fires hold no allure. If I never see a shovel again, it will be too soon.

I’m. Just. Done. But winter isn’t.

Then it’s time to escape. I consider spending ridiculous sums I can’t afford to just see the sun and walk outside without my down coat. Escape to Puerto Vallarta for just $759? SURE!

When reason reasserts itself, I go to the Como Park Conservatory instead. Inside, the air is humid and HOT. Birds are chirping. It smells like dirt and growing. Like life. Tulips, hyacinths, Asiatic lilies, and azaleas are blooming in glorious profusion. The whole world isn’t dead.

There’s hope. By late March melting icicles begin their steady drip. Water rushes under skim ice on sidewalks, begging to be crunched. Winter will actually end. Maybe by April 1^st. April 15^th for sure.
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Recentering, seasons, winter
9 responses to “Why I Don’t Hate Minnesota Winters”
1. passthebubblewrap
  
  February 11, 2016
  
  Loved this post. As I live in Melbourne, Australia, I have only ever seen snow twice. Your words gave me a sense of comfort and peace. Jo. Xx
2. Lynne
  
  January 28, 2016
  
  Nice post–although this winter seems easier to take since there hasn’t been all that much windchill. Nevertheless, the Conservatory photo made me smile.
  1. Ellen Shriner
    
    January 29, 2016
    
    Thanks! This certainly has been a different winter–warmer and cloudier–but I’m OK with that.
3. Cathy Madison
  
  January 28, 2016
  
  What a sensuous — and sensible — analysis. I suspect you have lots of company.
  1. Ellen Shriner
    
    January 29, 2016
    
    Thanks! Most Minnesotans probably give winter a lot more thought than people who live in milder climates.
4. Pam
  
  January 28, 2016
  
  Great post! Didn’t make me all that homesick for Minnesota, as we’ve had so much snow and ice in northern AZ this winter. But I do like making soup, and I do like warm socks.
  1. Ellen Shriner
    
    January 29, 2016
    
    Thanks! It does seem like winter is going faster. Can’t believe it’s almost February!
5. Eliza Waters
  
  January 27, 2016
  
  Great piece, Ellen. My tolerance of winter has increased in recent years, I think due to the fact that time seems to go so much faster with each passing year. I know I’ll blink and it will be spring!
  1. Ellen Shriner
    
    January 29, 2016
    
    I know what you mean–feels like I’m living a lot of my life in fast forward!
I’m OK with No Pain or Gain

Ellen Shriner

January 21, 2016
After watching a movie like Unbroken or reading a book like Cheryl Strayed’s Wild, I try to imagine how I would cope with ongoing physical hardship. Would I be able to endure it? I hope that if my life depended on it, I could summon the strength. But who am I kidding?!? I’m a wimp. That’s why the psychology of physical toughness fascinates me. What drives people to push past pain in the name of sport?

I’d like to think that I have mental toughness. I’ve faced down situations that were emotionally and mentally challenging. Generally, I’m calm in a crisis. But I’m the last person who would seek out physical challenges.

Hike 10 miles uphill on a tough Rocky Mountain trail? Well, maybe if I were lost and that was the only way to find civilization. And civilization included a lengthy massage and fine cuisine.

Take a 75-mile bike ride? In my case, that would take days, not hours. Perhaps if I was guaranteed to win an all-expense paid trip for two to Paris I could push myself to do it.

Run a marathon? As in pounding the pavement, sweaty and delirious for 26 miles? I can’t imagine what would drive me to run that long. Even if a rabid mother bear was chasing me, I gotta think she’d get tired after a mile or two. And I would have collapsed and the bear would be snacking on me, so perhaps that’s not a good example.

I’m not knocking athletic efforts.

I know a number of runners, hikers, distance bikers, and others who like nothing better than testing their mettle. I admire their ambition and focus, but I truly don’t get what makes the hardship appealing.

As soon as I’m panting and my muscles are burning, I think, This isn’t any fun. Why am I doing this? I don’t have to prove anything to anybody.

I’m curious about the psychology of endurance.

The will to stay alive drove Louis Zamperini to endure horrible conditions. Cheryl Strayed was troubled and her self-imposed hardships were a way of gaining perspective and finding peace. If sheer survival or recovering from emotional trauma isn’t the motivating force, what drives distance runners, bikers, hikers, and other endurance athletes?

Fitness? That’s certainly a worthy goal, but you can be fit with a whole lot less effort than what’s required to train for and run a marathon. Plenty of people (like me) just work out or take an exercise class. I exercise because it’s good for weight control and my overall health, but aside from the health benefits, most of it isn’t that enjoyable to me.

City walking–my favorite exercise

Pleasure? I’ve read that runners, hikers, bikers and others who practice endurance sports get into a groove and experience a mental high. At some point the pain of exertion must diminish. I assume the sport must begin to feel good. I’ll have to trust you on that, since it’s never happened to me!

Certainly, the view you’d see after hiking to a mountain’s summit would be breathtaking. Maybe someday I’ll actually find out . . . but whenever I’ve hiked in the hills (and really, we’re only talking about a few miles at the most), I spent most of my time looking at the trail and figuring out where to place my feet so I wouldn’t trip over a rock or twist my ankle.

Trail in New Mexico

A sense of accomplishment? Obviously. If I could do any of the endurance sports I’ve mentioned, I’d be proud of myself. Is the sense of accomplishment enough to sustain you and drive you while you’re training? Because I have so little experience with it, I’m curious about people who say, Yeah I hurt, but I’m gonna get up tomorrow and hurt some more.

Maybe my klutziness has prevented me from discovering the joy of physical hardship. I can walk . . . and well, walk. If I sneeze while walking I have to come to a full stop to blow my nose. I can’t do both at once. I’ve never been great at any sport, let alone the ones that call for endurance. Perhaps if I weren’t so awkward, I’d begin to enjoy sports and then doing A LOT of something would seem fun.

For now, I’ll stick with my basic exercise—walking a few miles daily and doing yoga. But I’ll be cheering on all of you serious athletes and liking your Facebook photos of cool accomplishments. Athleticism is a nice place to visit even if I don’t want to live there.
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biking, Exercise, Fitness, Health, hiking, marathons, Running, Sports, Walking
4 responses to “I’m OK with No Pain or Gain”
1. Eliza Waters
  
  January 21, 2016
  
  I hear you! I like a nice walk, but please no sweating or exertion – lol! I think some of us are athletes and need to push our body and others are more inclined to enjoy life a bit more sedately. Maybe it’s in the DNA!
2. Cathy
  
  January 21, 2016
  
  The mental high — euphoria, feeling like you could run forever with your feet hardly touching the ground — is not all that hard to achieve, although I have found it unpredictable. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn’t. For me it’s more a matter of time than pain. (I’m a wimp, too, with no marathon on my horizon.) Walking for an hour won’t do it, but two or three hours might. The aftermath, being able to relax and concentrate in a mild state of joy, is so pleasant. But it’s also important to enjoy the activity at some level. Have you noticed that few runners smile while running? Dancers smile while dancing, though. Maybe you could try that.
3. Ellen Shriner
  
  January 21, 2016
  
  Thanks for the thoughtful comment. I appreciate your insights!
4. Beach Body Bliss
  
  January 21, 2016
  
  Interesting questions, and subject. I would imagine it is a culmination of drive, and to prove something to oneself, self discipline, accomplishment… Being able to overcome obstacles and reach goals. I’ve also read articles that suggest the process of training is often the part people favor over the actual race, and that once complete athletes can become depressed (or other psychological concerns) once they are no longer training. I’m a no pain no gain person, as I enjoy challenging my body (which essentially challenges my mind), pushing boundaries for me is a form of growth 🙂
Renewing Passports for Children? Be Aware!

Elizabeth di Grazia

January 14, 2016
I woke up startled. Filled with dread.

“Jody, I didn’t make a copy of the kids’ citizenship papers.”

I sank into our mattress. “Remember, we never did get Crystel’s green card back.”

Antonio and Crystel’s citizenship papers were issued February 19, 2008. They were six years old.

When Crystel was nine she asked me if I wished I were white or brown, or Mexican or American or Guatemalan. I knew then that it was time that she saw her citizenship papers.

“You’re an American,” I told her. “You have a Welcome letter from President Bush.”

“Do I have a green card?”

2012 Lake Amatitlan, Guatemala

“Well,” I said.

Climbing Volcano Pacaya in Guatemala was easier than gathering the 20 documents that were required for her citizenship. Her green card was among them.

I had laid the trail of documents on the floor because the table wasn’t large enough. I methodically checked off each requirement before placing the paperwork into the envelope to be mailed.

Antonio’s train of documents was next to hers.

Seems like losing government documents is not unheard of, maybe not even uncommon. When I explained to the Chicago Passport Agency that I didn’t receive Crystel’s green card back – which was a requirement for her passport – they must have believed me because they issued her a passport anyway for our first trip to Guatemala when she was 7.

Lake Atitlan, Guatemala 2014

Now, it would be logical to think that once you received a passport for your children that when it came up for renewal you could just show the about to be expired passport.

It’s never that easy.

Antonio, Crystel, and I arrived at the government office. Waited for our turn. An hour later, I learned that I needed Jody there as well as birth certificates, citizenship papers, etc….

While we were leaving one of the kids asked me why we needed Mama Jody. “So, they know that I’m not stealing you,” I told them.

Getting two parents and two teenagers together at one time can be challenging.

More challenging though and what will keep you up at night is if you don’t ask for a copy of everything that you turn over.

It might not come back.
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adoption travel, birth country travel, Citizenship
One response to “Renewing Passports for Children? Be Aware!”
1. Eliza Waters
  
  January 14, 2016
  
  Oh, dear, so stressful. Don’t forget to breathe deeply! 😉