
Photo © Matthew Sabo.
Published with permission.
This time of year winter instigates a battle between my external reality, thoughts of 'enough is enough', and the knowledge that I need to lead my children by example. Make the best of every situation. Six months of winter is a situation. Controlling my mental outlook is key to survival. I seek enlightenment.
Four days ago while I drove my four kids to school, my youngest cheered as she watched the car thermometer. My garage was 19F(-7C) and as we headed down the road the numbers dropped. As the numbers were called out, "-15, -16, -17, -18, -19 (-28C)." Giggles started up, then grew louder and longer. Giggling at the cold. That's an attitude adults forget.
I admit adults have less to laugh about. My neighbor across the street can’t fit his second car in the garage. That morning his car sputtered in the cold. Worse yet, frost still appears when the dewpoint is -25F (-32C) and a thin veil adhered like super-glue to his glass.

Photo © Harmony. 
I felt smug about my +19 degree garage and went grocery shopping. I came home to a garage door that wouldn't open. I got out of the car to investigate what I thought was a blown fuse and heard a buzzing, grinding noise inside the garage. I raced through the front door, looped through the halls, and hit the switch to turn off the motor. It was too late to save the plastic gear that ignored the jammed door and shredded into plastic wisps.That diagnosis was delivered by two cheerful repairmen who came the next day. They made the repair on the spot and declared the cold not so bad if you dressed for it. Hands might have ached, but they didn't let on. All words exclaimed pride over the renewed motor.
In my last post, The Wind Chill Factor, I scoffed at way Minnesotan's declare perkily, "It could be worse." I felt smug, like the child who figured out the Emperor wore no clothes. Can't people feel how brutal the weather is? Since then, I've humbly realized the Emperor was wearing lots of clothes and in fact employed a layering system. I'm underdressed.
Play With the Wind

Photo © O. Joy St. Claire. All rights reserved. Published with permission.
O. Joy St. Claire lives in Ohio, and drives north to Lake Michigan to capture the way the wind whipped waves coat everything in ice. Joy sees harsh weather as a chance to capture something amazing and she wears the right clothes: warm hat, neck gaitor, and a face mask if the wind is blowing.
Build a Snow Fort

© Lalla Porter. All rights reserved.
This is a favorite photograph of my son, taken when he was five years old. Deeply absorbed in making snowballs, he isn't bothered by the fact he can't see well or that his gloves are the wrong size. I call his name and he reluctantly looks my way.
Nature photographers don't ignore their hats, but those who capture breathtaking images engross themselves with the intensity of a cold-fingered child who hears Mom's dinner call and begs to stay outside just a minute longer.
Change of State

Photo © Matthew Sabo.
Published with permission.
Matthew took a three day visit to the ICEHOTEL in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, and met challenging lighting and the cold undaunted. His photo set is full of stunning abstract modern images. This room of snowballs is of the Change of State suite designed by Daniel Rosenbaum and Dylan Pillemar in 2006.
Download a pdf brochure provided by Sweden's ICEHOTEL . If the cost to go as a family of six wasn't beyond my means, I'd book a chance to sleep in a real room of ice. I know my Norwegian heritage is Sea-Sami. My people came from Tromso, in the arctic circle. I think I'll research to see if my Swedish ancestry is Sami too. Cold winter enchants me once again.