It's winter: time to rip off my clothes

I think the day I started loving winter is the day after I discovered warm boots.   I got something like frostbite of the feet when I was a young teenager, and for a decade or so after that, I became super wimpy about cold weather.   (I even wear shoes in the summer, because my feet get that cold). 

So walking around in winter weather was kind of torture for me until somehow I discovered that thick-soled boots, with warm upper insulation, actually work.   And warm boots, together with the old Girl Scout mantra of dressing in layers, turned winter weather into a super joy for me.

Okay, true, it takes me like 5 minutes to get dressed to go outside.  But being outdoors these days is just totally awesome for a person like me.  Go running with my buddies?  Yes, please --- just let me layer up first.   Walk two miles with a backpack on so I can serve breakfast at the soup kitchen?  Lovely! 

Caveat: I totally know that I'm talking from a point of privilege here.  I serve breakfast once a week to people who don't have a choice about being indoors or out, and they don't have the same warm clothes I do.  Walking around outdoors for one hour can be fun; spending your entire day outdoors every day, not so much.  If you do want to donate warm clothes, hats and gloves that are wind-resistant are like gold; knit hats and mittens are essentially worthless in the wind, especially if they start to get wet.   

That being said, for a desk-sitter like me, there's something wonderful about actually moving around; about being outdoors where there's wind and sun and such.  It reminds me that what makes the most difference to our internal thermostats is not our layers of fat, but our oxygen-burning, heat-generating muscles.  A bunch of times in this chilly weather, I've found myself unzipping outer layers, removing scarves, as I walk along. 

And then when I do come back inside, I'm a furnace.   And I need to rip off all my clothes as quickly as I can, so I don't end up soaking them in puddles.   (Also, ironically, I keep my feet warm by removing the boots, because they carry winter inside with them.   Huzzah for slippers!)

I asked my students to share advice for dealing with the cold weather.  They said, "Stay indoors!".   But they also complain every time they see me about the weather.   What if actually going outside helps you deal with the weather even better, by learning to appreciate it? 

So warm boots.  Tights under my jeans.  Layer upon layer.  Ear muffs.  And then, Febrrrrrrrruary outdoors!