In New England, there are two types of people, those who like winter and those who do not. It does not always make sense to me if you do not like the weather in New England, why people stay. The normal response is family. I am one of those people that loves the winter. I love cold weather, I love snow, I love be bundled up and I LOVE my electric blanket!
Taryn on the other hand, does not like winter. But she tolerates it because family is nearby. Now that I have a child, I can see how winter does complicate your life. In order to get my son in the car and into a store it is a production. He needs to be wearing socks, a hat, and gloves and I need to have a sweatshirt with us because he can not wear it in the car seat. I have to decide if it is cold enough that when I am getting him out of the car seat, do I need to put him in the sweater or can I just wrap him in a blanket or even just carry him in with no extra layer.
This is where I struggle sometime. My child is a lot like me where he is almost always warm and with take off layers inside. The only time he is comfortable in his sweatshirt, is when he knows he is going for a walk. And when we go for a walk, I put him in a sleeping bag type of contraption to help keep him warm. Jackets are not one of the items that my son enjoys. He does not like the bulk and he does not like his vision being impeded in anyway. And so often, we do not use a jacket.
To be fair, we also try not to take our child out when it is below freezing. Although not always possible, we do try. I have put vests on him a few times and that does seem to be something my son can tolerate, but not for too long.
I do not feel like I have really experienced winter with my son either as we have hardly had snow this year. Yes we have had some snow here and there, but nothing major this year. I can see how it would be harder with a family when going out to the store is not an option because you do not want to put your child’s life in danger to go get groceries.
What I did notice about this winter was I am easily frightened by slippery ground. I do not know if the fear of falling when I broke my leg with ever go away, but winter does make it worse. I almost never look up when I am walking in a parking lot or anywhere outside. I park in places that may be far away, but I know there is no ice. I also exclusively wear sneakers or very sturdy winter boots going to work every day to make sure I am safe. I walk much slower than I ever have in my life and I always hope that roads/sidewalks/parking lots are cleared when I need to walk outside.
All in all, I did not struggle that much this winter. The hardest part for me was not being able to walk outside because it was too cold for my son. Let us know how you deal with different weather conditions and go listen to our podcast.
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