‘I hate winter but I’d happily be on a ski slope right now’

As we all continue to harp on about how cold and dark it is, here’s why we should value this particular season

I personally find air conditioning really offensive, like an actual assault to my senses. I get the same feeling walking into the fridge and freezer aisles in supermarkets. In summer, people around me breathe sighs of relief as they step inside away from the (lovely, natural) heat and happily walk around in shorts and t-shirts. But as my fellow Nigerians would say, ‘Not me O!’ All I can say is thank goodness for cashmere because there’s no way I’m risking it without a cardigan. (I’m kidding, I work for a Christian organisation, I can’t afford cashmere.)

In case it wasn’t clear from the above paragraph (rant), cold isn’t really my thing. My friend who lives in North Carolina listens patiently to me moaning every winter about how cold I am. ‘Why don’t you just move?’ she asks, confused, as someone who lives in a country with 50 States to easily move around; each with a different weather system. When I get really cold I get Raynaud’s Disease in which I lose sensation in my hands and feet. Once when I took my gloves off on the tube, a fellow Londoner looked over in horror as the blood under my skin performed a kind of ombre exhibition going from pale yellow to warm red/pink, finally restored once out of freezing temperatures. 

Having said all that, I also ski which makes no sense at all. When I told my then boyfriend I was going to do a ski season, he looked at me carefully as if trying to work out exactly how hard I’d hit my head: ‘Are you sure? You know you’re not great with the cold?’ And he’s right. I’m not, and I will eschew a ski holiday for a hot one most days. However I love sports and there’s nothing like the absolute pure joy of speeding along on skis on a fresh powder day, with an empty slope and bright blue skies. Of course it’s not always like that and I’m known as a fair weather skier for that reason. 

But as I write, I haven’t been on a hot or ski holiday for two years which is almost unheard of for my (spoiled/lucky) generation. And last summer I was so incredibly sick from chemotherapy that after fainting three times in the space of 10 minutes, I spent pretty much the whole of July and August stuck indoors. Recently I was speaking to a friend of mine who lives in Singapore. She often tells me that she misses “having seasons” and wrapping up warm in the cold. Another friend who once spent about a year living in South America said he really missed the feeling of being cosy and the smell of an open fire in a warm country pub. Oh the irony.

It’s easy to forget these things when we’re so focused on the timing of our next holiday but the fact is, we probably wouldn’t appreciate one season without the other. And isn’t this just the same with life because yes, those cake and champagne moments boost feelings of happiness but when you’ve actually had to wait or work for something, how much sweeter is that resulting joy?

I interviewed a wonderful woman recently for the brand I head up called Woman Alive  and the darkness she has lived under is unimaginable. (You’ll have to wait for the March issue to read the article.) Seeing her today and how much she radiates life and joy, you’d never think she had a been a victim of long term domestic and sexual abuse. But Suzie is so full of passion for God and says her relationship with Jesus Christ completely turned things around for her. In her interview, Suzie said: I'm actually really glad I'm a born again Christian and I didn't grow up in a church environment because I think you can desensitise yourself to the word [of God, the Bible], whereas I feel like mine was a revelation. I sound like a song now but it's true: I was lost, but now I'm found!” 

Many of us have been through dark seasons and there are almost definitely some ahead. But in my experience these tough times are when we grow. We develop character and courage as well as the ability to help others in the future. (2 Corinthians 1:4) In nature, many animals and plants take time to hibernate in winter months and there is a figurative darkness for soon-to-be butterflies who are hidden away under dark shrouds before they explode into colour. 

I’m not saying winter is an easy time of year to embrace, especially for those of us who love the sun, but there really is a reason for every season (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) so maybe we need to seek out the positives. For starters, you should probably up your calorie intake because your body needs more fat as insulation against the cold (you’re welcome) and personally, the only time I can fully embrace winter is when it's accompanied by vin chaud and some tartiflette so maybe it’s time I booked a ski holiday…

Doll x

Desperate for a break on the slopes but don’t want to go alone? Go hang with the excellent Altitude Mission team based in Meribel, France. They provide Ski Angels (think on the slopes version of Street Pastors), live music worship sessions and free burger & beer nights. Ski or don’t ski, this is where you should be headed for some actual winter sun!