Sunday
Jan302011
Careful What You Wish For
January 30, 2011 * * * * * Posted by: Marcie 
Winter.
A one single word. Evocative..powerful…visual. I don’t think there is any other season that suggests such dark and desperate emotion.
Winter.
That single word made up the first sentence of a short story I once studied written by Sholom Aleichem. Immediately – one could see..feel..hear..and almost taste the harsh barren coldness of life in the distant northeastern European shtetls. Women wrapped up in old rags. Men in their heavy coats. Merchant carts overloaded with their wares..being pushed and pulled thru the snow.
It brings to mind dark Dickensian scenes. Of beggar children in the streets of pre-Industrial-age London. Hungry. Cold. Pleading for food to nourish their bodies. The glow of the gas lamps thru the ever-falling snow. Hardship.
Romantic images from Dr. Zhivago and the cold hard struggle for both love and survival. Of Ayn Rand and her vivid descriptions of the harsh Siberian landscape. Howling winds. Drifting snow. Bone-chilling cold.
Winter.
A season when the days are short..the nights long. When the temperatures often drop to well-below zero. When the snow often blows cold and angry. When the winds cut right thru to the bone. A season when – often – daily life is a struggle. To stay warm. To stay energized. To maintain hope when all seems so dark and endlessly hopeless.
It’s a season that is hard for many. Never-ending. Rendered in shades of only grey and white. Void of color. Void of nature’s energy and life. It can be so easy to lose a sense of perspective. That this – this beautiful cold white moment – is all we get. It’s all there is. In a few short months – it will be history.
No denying it. This winter – here in the northeast – has been like no other I can remember. One snowfall following another. Bitter cold. Icey clear. A pure white blanket covering the ground. Skies – that are either monochromatic grey - filled with falling snow..or blindingly bright winter blue.
And – I am loving it. All of it. Every windswept..snow blown..frosty minute.
Winter.
For me – it represents a certain comfort. A familiarity. A warmth. A coming home.
As a northern girl growing up in Montreal we lived with this season. We dressed for it. We ate for it. We learned how to be outdoors in it. We skied. We skated. We spent long afternoons on our toboggans and sleds. We walked to and from school in it. Never a question of it being too cold..too wet..too windy. We embraced it…perhaps because we had no choice..or perhaps because the only way to the other side..is through.
And – I’ve missed that. All of these years – living in a more temperate..easier to navigate climate – I’ve missed those childhood winters…when all was perpetually white. When – in some ways – life was harder than it is easier…but so much more fun.
I wished for this winter. I hoped for it. I celebrated the first snow..and each one that followed. One ‘storm’ after another. Deip shnay. Belle neige. Snow that is so thick that if we get much more it will soon be covering our first floor windows.
I’m like a child again. Playful. Energized. Throwing myself down into its powdery softness..feeling its cold and wet against my face. Wrestling and playing with my dog. Watching and wishing to – once again – spend carefree days sledding at the park. Knowing that home was always within reach..and that there – I would be greeted with hot cocoa and cookies and love.
Winter.
For some – I know – it’s a difficult season. A dark one. A hard one to embrace. But for me – winter is the season of light. Of bright white snow reflecting. Of knowing that what we have today..won’t be here tomorrow. This winter – for me - has been like wishing upon a star..and having that wish come true.
Be careful what you wish for. Sometimes - wishes DO come true!
Reader Comments (21)
I love winter, but my handicap doesn't, a yearly struggle it is for me, with the cold... but photo wise I love it
You are like my husband, who also loves winter--the cold, the snow, shoveling, skiing. If it has to be cold, I want snow, and we have that this winter.
As you well know, I wished for this, too! I thought of you yesterday, as I walked in the woods, and how visual winter is. The starkness and lack of vibrant colors. But yes, I'd forgotten about Montreal. Everything always comes back to our childhoods! Beautifully written, Marcie!
You are indeed getting your share of winter this year. Our snow was early this year, but now it is gone and I'm happy with that.
Enjoy your snow, that picture really shows the fun. love it.
a joyful photograph with a beautiful essay on the white season that inspires this shut-in to put on warmer gear and get outside!
had to laugh marcie, i sit here in costa rica, toasting my bones and my soul, and like true canadians we are obsessing about the weather. how warm it is, how delightful, why the heck do we put up with winter? and yet like like you, i find some comfort in our cold winters. i look forward to that feeling of hunkering down and staying home. our problem is that it lasts too long. a nice eight week winter would be beautiful. great post, as usual, i will toast you now with my delicious coffee as i sit on the terrace overlooking the ocean.
Great post Marcie and I loved your use of the word, Winter. Having spent two snow packed years in upstate New York right next to Lake Ontario, I know what you mean when you write about the winters of your youth. I swore when I left that I would never live in a place that cold again. Brrr!
My old home in Atlanta was iced in for a week not long ago and I followed it from Cornwall where our temperatures were mild by comparison. It's been brisk here lately ... almost unpleasantly cold, but the blue skies we've had can help lift a weather worn spirit. I have always loved the look of winter with it's dark landscapes and barren trees. I need the lull to gather my momentum for the burst of energy and focus that comes with the new growth when the days grow longer and the sunlight feels warm again.
Hey Marcie, thanks for these words and the fun image ... I needed a bit of a pep talk and some positive thoughts about winter. We have some record breaking low temps and more snow heading our way, already this morning the mountains are being consumed in a frozen fog. Being a girl of the South, I would not turn down a chance to be hanging out with Margie right about now! Keep having fun!
I'm envious! :) I love Winter too and you depicted it so well. Wish we had at least one snowstorm here in the Alps this year... never say never! Beautiful post.
Having grown up in Michigan, Marcie, you know I, too, experienced real winter, something I missed my last 25 years in Atlanta. (And the week of winter they had this year, I wasn't there!) If you grow up with it as kids, I wonder if it just stays with you?! I still could stand a lot more snow than what they get here in middle Holland. Maybe if I wish for more we'll get it? Yes, we get our fair share of the grey, dark days. But the bright, reflective snow days are more than worth it. So I'm totally with you. Our Norwegian friends always say there's no such thing as bad weather...just bad clothes. I really believe it! :)
I also do miss the winters of my childhood (you wrote it so well)!
Every possible minute we spent outside in the snow, playing with our friends, racing sleds, built snowmen, had snowball fights. We were dressed for it and didn't feel the cold. I loved watching the snowflakes falling down. It was so comforting. And of course we walked to schools. No reason for closing them.
In case there is a tiny little bit - an idea - of snow here (CA), schools are closed. It makes me laugh. People complain about the "cold". Where are my winters? (I need to come over to your place)
Well, you know how I feel about the cold and snow. I'm happy for you that you got what you wished for with all the snow you've been having. For me, I'm glad it's all melted off. I just wish it would warm up and stay warm. :)
this is a wonder filled post ..our winters in Texas are not filled with snow ..but a respite from hot weather .. the images of winter I see are like a dream..
I live in Alaska, and love winter the most (all 6 months of it) and really like this shot allot!
Beautiful post, Marcie. Great writing! I lived in Montreal for five winters -- whereupon as a Southern girl, I admitted I couldn't take it anymore and moved back where I belonged. ;) Those winters are a whole different world from where most of us come from; German friends of mine just tried to emigrate to Toronto and gave it up after two winters, saying it was beyond their mental/physical endurance.
I can understand how you would miss something you grew up enjoying and loving. Light in winter is different with a fresh snowfall on the ground -- you can see it even before you hop out of bed. And the feel of the air can be invigorating. My husband longs for snow in winter, as growing up he was used to a more wintry winter than we get here (but nothing like Canada's versions). He would have been overjoyed to get your wish, too. :)
What a great post and great attitude. I am usually more like you, but for some reason, this year, January kicked my butt. But I'm going to love February no matter what. (Feel free to remind me I said that when I start complaining...)
i'm currently enjoying what i consider 'real' winter....here in england and somewhat freezing my butt off!!!! that said, i love these cold frosty, but sunny, days...despite not having enough clothes! here another 10 days or so, so plenty more time to acclimatize :)
I love winter when it's snowy, cold and the days are sunny and nice. That weather works nicely with my body. So the last two winters have been so nice. Love your image of winter fun games.
Oh Marcie, I'm at my wits end with the cold but someone this made me feel like I can bear it. I love it and your writing is so wonderful.
Having grown up on the Illinois Prairies, we too experienced true winters -- giant drifts of snow, crisp blue skies -- the things you so elegantly described.
Your post certainly reminds us of the beautiful, nearly romantic, side of winter. The news only points out the dangerous, ugly side of winter! Thanks for the reminder...and another wonderful image.
We have harsh winters here in Alberta too yet I like it until it hits -25C ...then the joints ache, it's hard to breathe etc etc. I find winter beautiful too and was delighted you wrote about the good side. Wonderful post Marcie and much enjoyed as I sit here with four feet of snow outside the door :)