My Wintering

aka my involuntary crash course in resting

During the coldest winter in my recent memory, I was given the opportunity to winter. This concept came to me through a book by Katherine May, Wintering: The Power of Rest and Retreat in Difficult Times, in which she describes a season of deep introspection, hibernation, reckoning with the current difficulties in life, and being open to finding a solution, but mostly it is an encouragement to stay the course. I’m sure you have heard “summer” used as a verb, ie. “We summer in Tucson.” I had never heard “winter” used as a verb, but it instantly made sense to me. There are so many things I only do in winter, or at least do more when the weather precludes me from doing anything outside: craft/knit, binge TV shows, puzzles, reorganize or redecorate, sort my items into piles I’d like to give away (but of course I don’t do the giving away until spring or even summer).