Sinking into the Season

wintering 2022 | volume 1

Oh hey friends.

I am greeting you this morning with a warm cup of coffee and a level of exhaustion that I usually don’t feel until the beginning of January. We spent Tuesday night and all day yesterday in the ER with one of our babies. Thankfully, she’s ok. When we got home from the hospital, I took a long hot shower, started the wood stove, put on the coziest pair of socks I own, and curled up on the couch with a fuzzy blanket. I had been planning on doing some house projects this week on top of my regular work/writing schedule, but as soon as my back hit the couch pillow, I gave up. As I sank into the couch, I thought, Alright. That’s it. I’m sinking into winter right now.

There’s something about sticking your hand out and making an agreement with the season approaching. You draw a truce. You let the season be what it is and the season agrees to not beat you to a pulp about it.

Art is by Lore Pemberton - the cozy artist. I love her so much..

There’s a science to it, you know.

Scientists call it “human seasonality”. Humans are cyclical, we’re creatures of rhythm and we thrive on the patterns of our creation. Our circadian rhythms tell us when it’s time to wake up, time to rest, time to sleep. Women can track their cycles and shape our lives around the times our hormone changes will help us be more productive, or when they tell us that we need more rest. It’s kind of fascinating.

Here’s a great article on it, if you’re into it > Seasonality in Human Cognitive Brain Responses

I think the better we understand the way we’re wired and how our wiring functions best in the world we’re in, the better our quality of life will be.

Winter isn’t a season we need to power through. I live in a state where winter can last six months of the year. I absolutely do not have that much fight in me. None of us do. So, we give in. We sink into the weather and all the good and bad that it brings and in the sinking in, we are doing ourselves a great kindness.

Your brain will thank you for this. I think you’ll look back on this winter, years from now, and say “This is when it all changed for me.”

Here in the Wintering community, we like to think of wintering as a lifestyle. “Winter” is something that happens to you. “Wintering”is something that you choose. You’re not a victim to the weather, you’re an active participant in a seasonal change. Instead of “Ugh, it’s winter”, we say, “It’s time to winter.”

There’s nothing we can do to escape the reality we’re in, so let’s take control of it, as best as we can. Some days are going to be easier than others, but we’re going to winter well, even on the hard days.

It’s here. And it’s time to sink into it, friend.

Since it’s our first time together this year, let’s get to know each other a little bit. If you’re reading this in your email, click the post title and head over to the website version of this post and leave a comment telling us where you’re from and what winters are like for you!

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In this first wintering volume :

• Something to do

• Something to drink

• Something to read

• Something to think about

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Something to do :

This week, we are all going to get new mugs. I’m not understating it when I tell you that this is the most crucial part of wintering. And the most fun! (Those who did this last year, please confirm in the comment section.) This mug is one you’re going to use purely with the intention of wintering well. After a few mornings of grabbing the same mug and filling it with something warm and comforting, you’ll train your brain to release serotonin every time you see it. So this mug needs to be protected, as does your time with it! Try to combine your morning mug time with something you really enjoy doing. As the winter drones on and you find it harder and harder to get out of bed in the morning, the thought of your mug waiting for you will help you get your feet on the ground.

The best spot to find new mugs is the thrift store, so carve out some time this week to head to your favorite spot to shop second hand and find your new favorite mug. Bring the family along, if you want! Or go with a friend who is wintering alongside you.

The most important part of all of the “something to do” sections is just as much about the process as it is about the result, so enjoy your trip! Grab a hot drink on your way, take your time, and enjoy the search as much as the find!

And obviously, post your picture on instagram stories and tag it so we can all see each other’s mugs! I’m so excited to see what you find!

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Something to drink :

Once you have your new mug, you need to fill it with delicious things. For some of you, you might just want to stick with what’s familiar and comfortable. But if you like to try to new things, I’m going to emphatically recommend a new coffee roaster who just happens to be from our very own Wintering community!

Ok, I honestly don’t know how to write this without it sounding like an advertisement, but I promise it isn’t. I’m not getting paid (other than the free bag they sent me to try) and I honestly am actually this big of a fan.

When a coffee company says that they “exist to make coffee snobbery approachable,” I think that’s a pretty tall order because I’m married to a coffee snob and I know how fully unapproachable this particular snobbery can be. I don’t ask questions anymore. All I know is that when he hands me my coffee every morning, it tastes like it should cost $7. BUT. I gave my coffee snob a bag of Spring City Coffee last week and forgot about it and then when he brought me my morning cup the next day, I yelled at him to never do anything different and to make my coffee exactly like that for the rest of our lives. He didn’t do anything different that day. It was the beans.

* chef’s kiss *

Fully accomplished the approachable coffee snobbery thing they’re going for here. We love a business that does what they say they can do.

They beans are roasted in Waukesha, Wisconsin by this rad family right here :

I love, love, love, that our little community here is full of so many entrepreneurs and creatives and people who are skilled at their craft. If you’re a coffee person, or if you love one, throw some Wintering love to the DeMeyer family!

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Something to read :

Anxious People - Frederik Backman is one of my all time favorite author. His characters are so well written and always feel like friends to me. All of his books are comfort reads for me.

Holy Hygge - I just got this book in the mail and am so excited to start reading it. @alyssabfalk (on instagram) is doing a book club with this in January if you want to follow along with her!

for the kids :

Little Women - Sometimes we just need to be reminded of the classics

The Rescuers - Don’t let the Disney movie sway your choice to read this or not. It’s not the same!! I haven’t read this in a long time, but it’s a beautiful story. It’s calm, interesting, and kind of nods to a more classical style of literary writing but still maintaining a more modern children’s story telling. I mean - it’s a story about mice saving a poet from prison. What’s not to love??

for the little kids :

If You Want to See a Whale - This book is so simple and sweet and the artwork is beautiful. This is an image from the book and I found a blog post from 2013 detailing how the artist made these beautiful images! Read it right here.

Illustrations copyright © 2013 by Erin E. Stead

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Something to think about -

Have you noticed, in the last few years, how the conversations around “hustle culture” have completely and totally shifted? It seems like more and more people are rejecting the notion that we all need to break our backs, abandon our families, and work ourselves to the bone to be able to provide for our families and make something of ourselves. We’ve learned that this culture of work like a maniac until you die or get rich is actually not healthy for us long term and is toxic to our relationships and families.

Now, people are moving towards a more balanced approach to work, entrepreneurism, and family. Our priorities are shifting. The cultural gaze seems to be moving from numbers and validation and material success to things that really matter.

And because I can’t help but find connections and patterns, I see this happening in Christian culture as well. Some of the most mainstream evangelical christian circles have had a hustle culture approach to Jesus. If I can build a big enough platform, if I can “save” enough sinners, if I can be enough, serve enough, work enough, I’ll earn a place of importance in the Kingdom of God.

As if the kingdom of God ever worked that way.
As if God’s love can be earned.

We actually don’t have to work for it at all. He gives it freely, unconditionally, and without restriction. We respond to that freely given love with hearts that want to honor him, not out of obligation, but out of love.

Love freely given, love gratefully received.

One of the biggest faith shifts for me was the moment I realized that God loved me just because he loved me. I didn’t have to fight for his attention or approval. I didn’t need the validation of my peers or my parents. I didn’t need anyone else in the world to look at me and say, “Look at her go. What an amazing child of God.” None of that mattered. All that actually mattered, no matter what my hustle till you deserve it mindset said, was that God loved me. It was simple. I’d just made it way too complicated. When I accepted his love as it was given, I relaxed into it. And as a result, his love changed me.

It’s a beautiful thing to be loved. It’s hard for some of us to actually believe that we are. You don’t have to work for it. You don’t have to earn it. It doesn’t matter if you deserve it or not, his love isn’t contingent on your behavior.

You’re loved by a good God. I think that’s worth toasting our coffee cups to this morning.

Happy wintering, friends! Make sure to introduce yourself below and then go on a mug hunting adventure this weekend!

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If you didn’t know already, I have another tier of blog that you can subscribe to. It’s $5 a month (or $50 a year) and during this wintering series, you’ll get an extra wintering themed email each week, throughout the series. You can bump to the next level below. Either way, I’m so so glad you’re here! Your support and participation in my writing is something I am so so thankful for!