The first snowfall of the year. While some people may groan over the unexpected treat, it is the first sign of the most magical time of the year. The snow is a clean slate. A white blanket that covers everything it touches and makes it pristine. It is a sign of the crisp, cold air that bites at your nose, the fireplace that warms your toes and the fervor of Christmas running through your veins. I’ve always loved the snow. A lot of people love this time of the year because of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years, but I think there is something so much more special about it.
People love the holidays around this time of year so much because it offers the opportunity to escape reality. In 10 out of 12 months of the year, we are all dealing with so much. We have to worry about rent and school and so many other things. While those issues don’t go away during this season, the holidays, and the snow, are a means to have an excuse to unwind and spend time with family. I’m not saying the holidays aren’t extremely stressful, especially when it comes to gift-giving, but it’s so much more than that.
There are so many things to do in the winter, especially in Michigan. Going to see the Christmas lights at the Detroit Zoo, skiing, sledding- the possibilities are endless, each offering a sliver of magic. In Grand Rapids, there are so many things to do in the wintertime. You can go to a Griffin’s Game, go on the snowmobile trails, and there are tons of sledding parks: Manhattan Park Sledding, Richmond Park, Mulick Park, Belknap Park and Mary Waters Park. Additionally, ice skating downtown Grand Rapids or ice skating in Campus Martius in Detroit is a special winter-time activity.
It doesn’t even have to be an adventure on the town to make it magical for the wintertime. Have a fire. Make a snow angel. Just go outside and do something in the snow. Then, come inside. Make hot chocolate, put on a movie, snuggle up and get toasty. Activities are great but the aroma, the feel of winter, is what it’s all about.
I think people tend to get wrapped up in the holidays. In the monetary things that we have to do for it to feel like the holidays. In reality, it’s about the relationships you create, the people you spend the time with. For me, I could be doing anything. As long as there is snow, that’s all I need. I have my people, and I love my people, but the snow is my favorite time of the year.
It’s a fresh, sparkling slate that covets a feeling of opportunity and newness. It’s also the end of the year. It signifies strength and fortitude. A cyclical marker of all the growth you’ve experienced throughout the year and a reminder of the years to come. It’s a turning point of the year. If it wasn’t your year, then you can leave it all behind and look forward to the next. The snow wipes away the old and ushers in the new. It’s a time to reset. A time to reflect and decide what it is you truly want out of life. If you’re not happy, change it. If you don’t like where you’re at, change it. If you don’t like who you are, then get up and do something about it.
Winter is much more than what activities you do in it; it’s about reflecting and enjoying the magical entirety of it.
