The past month has been one of single digit weather, and after the past several months of being snowed in and dealing with some stress over Kyle’s health, I started finding ways to beat cabin fever. Working from home means that during the week I am fortunate to wake up, spend a few minutes outside with my dogs, make some coffee, and shuffle into my home office in slippers with my space heater going and a puppy on my lap. Most mornings I start by 6:30am which means it’s still dark. However this also means it’s still light when I log off work in the afternoon. I have a snow globe that has a solar powered cardinal in it that starts moving flying over the snowman’s head when the sun comes up, so when that happens I start peeking out my window. If I’m lucky a few real birds start making stops in the Japanese cherry blossom right outside my window. Usually I’m glad that I don’t have to be out there in the type of cold that makes your hands stop working within minutes. After all, I have my job to keep my mind busy, my dogs to play with, and plenty of snacks at my disposal. Socially speaking my husband works from home so I have my best friend to chat with as the day goes on. My work friends are only a message away and make me genuinely laugh out loud several times every day from reading our chats. We even have a Peloton bike, walking pad, and some dumbbells to exercise at home. But sometimes even all these perks start making me feel like a hamster in a wheel. I have learned that while I am a creature of habit, I also get antsy when I don’t give myself chances to break the mold every so often. And the funny thing is that when I do break routine, one of the most rewarding parts of it is looking forward to getting back to normal.
Looking back on my previous career of teaching, many people ask me if I miss the school schedule or breaks. And I honestly don’t. I prefer knowing that I work 5 days a week, the same hours every day. In my current job I can start working 30 minutes earlier or 1 hour later any day I like, and I rarely even take advantage of that. I can use my paid time off whenever I need, even scheduling the time off the morning of the day I want to use it. I feel that the consistency of working even during the summer or holidays is more rewarding for me than the buildup of going back to school for the first time in weeks or months. And when I’m not working, I am truly not working.
One day off was New Year’s Day, which fell right in the middle of the week. We had pork roast with my dad and stepmom. Kyle was getting back to feeling normal after his surgery recovery; just a few days prior we had gotten a good report from his surgeon, but we were still waiting to hear what next steps might be based on getting more results back. Thankfully we got those answers about a week later and just had to get through another month until his next surgery, which should be the last treatment to keep him cancer free.
Many people talk about how January drags and then February flies, and I can say it did start to drag on a bit. Since Kyle’s next surgery is the first week of February we have had that hanging over our heads. So I’m calling this post Nordic January because of how Nordic sports have had to adapt to deal with the winter weather. The goal is simply getting outside and moving in spite of (or rather taking advantage of) wintry conditions.
We lost my stepmom’s father at the end of 2024 and celebrated his life the second weekend in January. It was one of the most beautiful memorials I have ever been to. I remember that our drive was a snowy one and that Kyle got up early that day to snow blow the driveway before we left.
That same week I got my hair cut by my best friend who has her own salon and went cross country skiing with my dad. Both of these simple things made me feel like I was starting the new year by caring for myself because I was doing things that I love with people I love.
I remember bringing a pair of snow pants for cross country skiing and my dad told me I would get too hot from moving. It was a high of 26 degrees that day but I went with his advice and just wore my base layer, a lightly lined shell jacket, and gloves and hat. About ten minutes in I was plenty warm. Even my hands had gotten toasty despite having cold finger tips when we began. The sun came out about halfway through and we got to see some blue sky and the lake in the distance of an overlook.
The next week Kyle went back to work and we had a fellowship night with our Bible study group who had not gotten together for a long time. And that weekend we drove to Niles, OH to meet our friends from Grove City, PA halfway for an escape room and lunch. We all had to make the decision that same morning on whether roads would be drivable but it worked out that it was cold and rainy but didn’t get icy until that night. My friend is expecting a baby in May so every time I get to see her in person is especially sweet.
The following week was my sister’s 21st birthday. It so happened that during the day that day my stepdad had calling hours for his sister passing and they were right in my town so I was able to go and give him a hug on my break. I remember thinking that the parking lot of the funeral home was pretty treacherous in winter because it was sloped at an angle, and when my mom’s friends and I walked out to our cars together we all locked arms. That night my mom, Grammie, aunt, and I took my sister out for her first glass of wine at Skye Bistro. We laughed and laughed about how it took 2.5 hours for us to have dinner there despite being the only ones in the restaurant. When we left we had to scrape snow off of our cars. That Saturday we also celebrated at my mom’s house and enjoyed confetti bundt cake while talking about my Grammie’s preparations for her and Papa to go to Florida. We talked about what a harsh winter it’s been and she reminisced that this is how she had always remembered winters to be for her in Ohio and that they have been shockingly mild in recent years.
This past week, the final week of January, we have staying in more again, but I did do two outdoor runs. The first run I only lasted ten minutes because the wind chill felt pretty cutting. But on my second run I ran to the lake and back and felt like I was coming out of my shell again and breathing fresh air, much like I did when I cross country skied. Both of those days I appreciated the beauty of the world around me, covered in snow, and the sharp air as it filled my lungs, and the feeling of sore muscles.
Written by Hannah 