Finding warmth in the coldest months

By Bex Peterson, Editor-in-Chief

I think it’s not a bold statement to opine that the months between January through to the end of March kind of suck.

The holidays are over, you’re back in the swing of work and school. All your mind and body want to do is hibernate by burrowing into a mound of blankets with hot chocolate, books, and video games until the weather climbs above ten degrees again. In the Lower Mainland it becomes drab and sloshy and cold; no one can figure out how to drive in this weather because no one bothered to switch over to snow tires. It’s a mess, you’re a mess, I’m a mess, and we’re all just trying to ride out the season until spring finally starts to creep into view.

Is it any wonder, then, that humans over the centuries have found ways to celebrate the simple idea of hope for spring to come?

I think that’s why I love the Lunar New Year so much, despite not celebrating it myself. It seems to me to be the perfect time for some warmth and life—not right at the beginning of winter when we’re all still charmed by snow angels and breathing out clouds of fog. No, it’s during these cold, wet months that we need to be reminded that spring is on its way.

It’s incredibly tempting to hide yourself away during this time of year; I know I’ve done it. I dropped out of university after my first year and ran off to the island to live in a basement where I worked three jobs to make ends meet, one of which was night shift work. I’m pretty sure I didn’t actually see the sun for the first two to three months of 2014. I kept to myself, and I did little else besides work and sleep. I didn’t think I wanted or needed anything beyond that.

But it was my friends and my family who pulled me out of it. They’d come to visit or call me again and again until I picked up the phone just to force me to talk to someone, anyone. I’ve always been absolutely astonished by the generosity of people around this time of year, how there’s an instinct to reach out and take care of the people around you who might be lost in the cold.

So, hey, even if you don’t celebrate Lunar New Year, maybe take this time as an opportunity to reach out to the people in your life. Host a dinner party, a games night, a movie marathon, anything at all. Anything to remind your loved ones that spring is just around the corner, even if it doesn’t feel like it yet.

Until next issue,

Bex Peterson