Living in the UK for the last five years, I really missed having seasons. There was some vague semblance of seasons with leaves in October, barren trees in January and daffodils in April, but mostly we could count on it being cool-ish, grayish and rainy all year. Each year as the summer months approached, everyone would whisper hopefully, "They say this year will be different. The jet stream has changed and we might have sun this summer," but that was not the typical end result. Nine months of anticipation almost always ended with three months of disappointment.
Here in Michigan we are now making up for lost time. Here there are four distinct and proper seasons (with winter being particularly distinct, proper and LONG). The day the calendar said it was autumn, the weather became crisp and the trees began to obediently drop their leaves. We are now surrounded by beautiful autumn colors, and we wake up to frost. In other words when I send my girls out to meet the bus in the morning, it is cold!! It's like North Carolina-February cold, and I am a little bit scared. I'm not sure if my Southern soul can stomach a Michigan winter. According to all of the natives, the many dropped acorns predict an especially brutal winter this year.
Eeek!
So lately I have been interrogating friends, acquaintances and strangers, asking questions like, "What are snow pants, and do I wear them to the grocery store?" Help a girl out here; I really have no idea. I asked an employee who was vacuuming at Meijer, "Are these snow boots?... Should my kids wear these to school this winter?" The answer: "Yes" and "Yes." I feel completely clueless.
I went shopping with a friend last week and bought my official winter coat. She asked one of the store employees about the differences between a fleece lining and some other technical-sounding type of lining. He replied, "I live around here, and the fleece lining is plenty warm for me." I was, of course, skeptical...
"Yeah, but you probably grew up around here and are a lot tougher than I am when it comes to the cold." He pointed at a rack of coats up high on the wall,
"These," he declared, "Are ridiculously warm." Of course I bought one of those coats. I will let you know if I'm feeling ridiculously warm in February.
If there are any cold-weather veteran Yankees out there reading my blog on the Interwebs, I would welcome any advice. I still haven't gotten a satisfactory answer to the question, "What do I wear out to the grocery store when it's -10 degrees Fahrenheit. Furthermore, what is up with the Ugg boots? They are very expensive and fuzzy inside, not to mention ugly as sin. Do I really need a pair of these? Will they really change my life?
Stay tuned for more of my frigid fretting...
4 comments:
Meredith I've lived in Buffalo, NY for 3 winters and am far away from a "veteran Yankee", but here is my advice. (1) Hire a snow plow service. You think your husband/kids will shovel the snow and he does the first couple of snows, but after 6-7 snow storms it looses it luster and you start to HATE it. (2) Invest in not just one, but a few jackets to match different outfits. I have one large heavy jacket for outdoor play, but numerous other "dress" jackets for work, church, etc. Oh and don't let the sales person tell you not to wash waterproof jackets, you can buy waterproofing detergent (or just wash with regular detergent and spray waterproofing on them). By the end of the winter you'll thank me. (3) Scarves, hats and gloves are essential; I prefer gloves that are water proof. (4) Hang in for a rough winter. Drink LOTS of hot chocolate and enjoy time with the family by a very warm fire!! Good Luck.
Kate, thanks. That was genuinely very helpful!!
If all else fails, you can flee to our house for a visit over the winter. (Our winters make NC seem brutal, although I did have to bake bricks last year and protect the pineapple plants a couple of times last yer.)
After living in Ohio now for 6 years - which does not usually get as cold as central Michigan, but last winter, we were snowier - investing in a good ski-type coat is a good idea. I only wear mine when I am out shoveling snow or playing in it. Otherwise, a nice, thick, dressier coat w/ gloves and scarves (to pull up over your nose and mouth when it's 10 out) will suffice. We'll have at least a week down here - up where you are, possibly longer - where it's in the teens the whole week. We have even had "cold days" off from school where it was too cold for the kids to stand outside at the bus stop b/c the temp was never going to get above 15 degrees. Sucks, but it's a nice day off school. Again, not sure if MI would do things like that.
I also have a ski bib (I got it at Target, but everywhere sells them) but I use it only for shoveling, playing, and skiing in snow. The great thing about up North is that they generally get major roads/sidewalks cleared pretty fast. I recommend getting a snow blower b/c after the 3rd time of shoveling your driveway/sidewalk it gets REALLY old - and kills your back.
Winters here in the Midwest are much grayer than the South. That is the worse part of winter - not the freezing temps, the gray skies which can be very depressing. When the sun comes out, briefly, in the winter, you'll feel like a miracle has occurred and you'll all be looking up at that big orb in the sky asking yourself, "What is that bright thing? Sun? I vaguely remember what the sun was."
As for Uggs - I recommend getting the fake kind. I'm sorry but $150 for a pair of boots you cannot even wear in the snow - b/c they're suede and I don't care what kind of protective spray you put on them, they get all nasty and salt covered by a few months - they get dirty fast and it's just ridiculous and the cheaper brands are fine. The Uggs and fake Uggs are nice b/c they do keep your feet incredibly warm although they make you shuffle around like every other 15 year old kid does who wears them. But, screw it. They are comfortable and warm and that's what counts. Everywhere sells some generic brand of Uggs, for adults and kids.
Good luck your first winter up here. It's not really as bad as you think, and I lived in the South nearly my entire life and now, when it's 40 out in the winter, we're putting on tshirts practically :).
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