Rain or Shine Mamma

There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes

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How to really enjoy – and not merely survive – winter

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December 30, 2020 By Linda McGurk

When I lived in Indiana, a curious thing happened every year around the time when the Thanksgiving turkey was in the books and the morning frost began to drape the neatly mowed small-town lawns. The drop in temperature and gradual loss of daylight seemed to signal that it was time for outdoor activities to come to a close and long-term hibernation to set in. Winter was a season that people steeled themselves to endure rather than enjoy.

I know this phenomenon isn’t unique to Indiana. Something about winter just tends to put us in survival mode. While summer is usually easy to love (unless you live in a climate where summers are oppressively hot and humid), getting outside in the cold simply takes a bigger commitment – and decidedly more gear. But we need the outdoors just as much during the cold months as we do during the balmy sun-bathing season, if not more. The beauty of the Scandinavian friluftsliv tradition is that it calls on us to embrace the outdoors in all seasons and I know you can too. If you’re having a hard time motivating yourself to get outside in the winter, this one is for you!

I grew up on a latitude where winters are cold, wet and extremely dark. To get my winter mojo on, I have a strategy based on the three As: Attitude, Adaptation and Activity. I’ll walk you through each one.

Attitude

So much of our aversion to winter is in our heads. I used to not care for winter until I realized how deeply I depended on daily outdoor time all year round for my mental health. Research has even showed that a daily one-hour walk can be an effective treatment against Seasonal Affective Disorder. But do we really need another scientific study to prove the many benefits of nature on our mental and physical health in order to get our butt off the couch and out the door? I think not. Your body already knows this and instinctively craves the outdoors, now all you’ve got to do is convince your mind. Make a commitment to go outside every day, regardless of the weather, even if it’s just for 15 minutes in the beginning. If the weather is anything but inviting, feel free to complain about it but don’t let it affect your determination. Some days, the best motivation can be to think of how good you’ll feel when you come back inside, and that’s OK too.

Adaptation

Adjust your clothing and equipment for the season and weather at hand. You don’t need to have all the latest and greatest gear to enjoy winter but it does help to have a basic wardrobe of clothes that will keep you dry and warm. A pair of wool socks, an all-weather parka, warm boots, shell pants or insulated pants and a hat and mittens will go a long way if you plan on staying active outside in the winter. Add some thermal long underwear on the coldest days and you’re golden. Adaptation is also about being flexible with location and activities depending on the weather. If you just got hit by a Polar Vortex, a brisk walk around the neighborhood is probably a better choice than a 10-mile hike into unknown territory.

Activity

Staying physically active is key to warding off the cold and will give you the most health benefits for your bucks. But what you do is less important than the fact that you do it. You don’t need to plan for a packed agenda or grand adventures to enjoy friluftsliv – the act of being outside and connecting with nature is enough. Find the places that speak to you in your nearby area, ideally ones that you can get to on foot – and return to them often. As you become connected to these places, you’ll find the magic in watching them change from season to season. Regardless of where you go or what you do, consider bringing a friend or partner along. Often, it’s easier to motivate yourself to get outside if you have somebody to share the experience with.

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Filed Under: Featured, Inspiration, Parent with Nature 7 Comments

Comments

  1. Jennifer says

    December 31, 2020 at 12:50 pm

    Love this post. My goal for 2021 is to do an hour walk/run at noon each day. I try to stay active while my kids are skiing (I was too late getting my ski pass and they closed season memberships) So I go for a walk in the trails while they ski. I had to get heated gloves this year because my fingers seem to get cold no matter the mittens I wear. We live in Edmonton, Alberta, so it can regularly dip to -20C.
    The key to an enjoyable winter is just get outside no matter the weather! It’s hard enough with Covid shutdowns, so this is our only outlet to not getting cabin fever.

    Reply
    • Linda McGurk says

      January 1, 2021 at 1:31 pm

      I know, the pandemic has made outdoor time even more essential. And I love the idea of heated mittens – I think I need a pair of those:)

      Reply
  2. Fallon Handley says

    January 13, 2021 at 4:36 pm

    I have been reading your book since holiday break and just found your blog. LOVE this article! I am from Montana and though the winter may be hard- it makes a world of difference in my mental well being if I get outside anyway. Makes you appreciate the warm sunny days that much more:)

    Reply
  3. Fallon Handley says

    January 13, 2021 at 4:39 pm

    I just started reading your book over the holiday and now found your blog. Love this post! Being from Montana I know all about the temptation of avoiding the outdoors. I am also glad when I bundle up and get outside regardless of how the weather is. Those cold windy days make you appreciate the warm sunny ones that much more 🙂

    Reply
    • Linda McGurk says

      January 19, 2021 at 11:30 pm

      Thank you! Yes, the contrasts make it all worth while. If we don’t allow ourselves to be slightly uncomfortable, we won’t fully appreciate the comforts that we have!

      Reply
  4. Ashley says

    October 10, 2021 at 9:43 pm

    Do you have an article for people who live in miserably hot climates? There is no real winter here. It gets cold for a few days in February if we are lucky. No snow here for years and years. And that one day it did snow, it was like 3 inches. It is horribly hot from May till November here. We wear shorts and t shirts at Christmas and have to run AC almost all year.

    Reply
    • Linda McGurk says

      October 11, 2021 at 1:48 am

      Hi Ashley! I haven’t written much about hot weather yet but it’s definitely on my to-do list. I get a lot of questions about it, so I think there’s a need for it. It just came naturally to me to start with cold weather since that’s where I’m from. Right now, I’m in the process of finishing my next book but as soon as I get done with that, the blog will be getting some more love:)

      Reply

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I’m not going to lie - there are times when my children’s dawdling drives me nuts. Like when they take 45 minutes to finish breakfast even though we’re running late . But I also envy their ability to be completely unhurried and present in the moment, and I realize that it’s a quality that I need to protect🐌As parents, we need to make space for our children to play, get bored, dawdle, wander, wonder, create, sleep in, be wild and free and watch the clouds go by. Let them be where they are and not push them to achieve arbitrary milestones or condition them to think that a packed calendar is the key to success and happiness.As always, Ginny of @1000hoursoutside is on point🙌🏻_____________________________#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #1000hoursoutside #quote ... See MoreSee Less
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Linda Åkeson McGurk
I’m not going to lie - there are times when my c I’m not going to lie - there are times when my children’s dawdling drives me nuts. Like when they take 45 minutes to finish breakfast even though we’re running late . But I also envy their ability to be completely unhurried and present in the moment, and I realize that it’s a quality that I need to protect🐌

As parents, we need to make space for our children to play, get bored, dawdle, wander, wonder, create, sleep in, be wild and free and watch the clouds go by. Let them be where they are and not push them to achieve arbitrary milestones or condition them to think that a packed calendar is the key to success and happiness.

As always, Ginny of @1000hoursoutside is on point🙌🏻
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#theresnosuchthingasbadweather #rainorshinemamma #1000hoursoutside #quote
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This is exactly how I feel when I spend time in na This is exactly how I feel when I spend time in nature and why I find it so relaxing. When I’m outside with my kids I’m really present in the moment and there’s no place I’d rather be❤️ Hope you feel the same🌿

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What are your thoughts on exploring more locally?
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When I became a parent, one of the first books I r When I became a parent, one of the first books I read was Free-Range Kids by Lenore Skenazy and I felt like I’d finally found somebody who “got it.”🙌🏻 Somebody who stood up and said enough is enough with the helicopter parenting trend, questioned the need for baby knee pads and reminded everyone that it’s okay for kids to be bored, drink out of the garden hose, climb trees and play without intervention by adults who are trying to make the activity more “educational.” Somebody who understood that free play is learning. And for that, we thank her🙏🏻🙌🏻
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@lskenazy
A follower recently asked me when she could start A follower recently asked me when she could start hiking with her kids, to which I responded that I’ve always hiked with mine, ever since they were babies👶🏻 I kept going after they graduated from the carrier, but obviously “hiking” with a toddler is a lot different than hiking by yourself and I think it’s important to be prepared for and accepting of that, or nobody is going to have a good time.

If you’d like to know more about hiking with toddlers, I share some tips in this post: https://rainorshinemamma.com/hiking-with-toddlers/. 

What are your thoughts on hiking with little kids? Do you have any tips that you’d like to share?💡
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Yes, it looks cozy around the fire and it was🔥 Yes, it looks cozy around the fire and it was🔥 What the picture doesn’t show is us making a wrong turn and losing the trail, resulting in a 1.5-mile detour with heavy packs and sunset closing in on us before we finally reached our campsite🙈

One of the reasons why I love hiking and backpacking is that even though it’s about “living simply”, it also involves a great deal of problem-solving. I actually like it when things don’t go exactly according to plan, because you learn more that way. Not just practical things, like figuring out your location and getting on the right track, but also about yourself and your reaction to challenges🙌🏻

In this case, the wrong turn was just a minor misstep that we were able to correct by backtracking, but it was a good way to test our reasoning skills and resilience at a point when we were both starting to get a little tired.

This was our fourth time of sleeping outside at least once a month for a year, a challenge I jumped on thanks to my friend @jeanetteosterman. I’m not normally one to do challenges but this has been a fantastic way to push my boundaries and learn new skills. Who knows, maybe sleeping under the open skies once a month will become my new normal?😜🤩
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I think it’s safe to say that if more of us trie I think it’s safe to say that if more of us tried to see the world through a child’s eye, this Earth would be a much more loving and compassionate place❤️

Thanks @awilderchild for your amazing nature poetry🙏🏻
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