It’s winter in Chicago — and we keep moving

Psst. I have a secret. Let’s try to keep it between us as I’d hate to rock the region with this devastating news. Brace yourself: It’s winter in Chicago.

One would think this is obvious — dips in temperature, snow blanketing the prairie, barren trees, and bodies bundled like burritos — but alas the season comes as a surprise to many every year. The result is incessant winter whining. “Why do we live here?” “It’s so cold outside.” “Why is there snow?”

People feigning disbelief at nature.

I’m sick of the annual performative winter whining. Last year when a winter storm hit the New York area, a local news channel did the also performative person-on-the-street interview about the weather. A woman named Diane, with a New York accent as thick as a pastrami deli sandwich, answered the news reporter in an incredulous tone. She didn’t understand why people were mad at snow. In winter, no less.

“We are a bunch of weird people,” Diane exclaimed. “If it were summer and it was snowing — yes. It is winter! Hello! It’s winter. I’m not surprised. I love it.”

Diane’s common sense warmed me on what was probably a cold winter day here. I already despise weather small talk. When it’s winter, it bugs me more. I love living in a climate with all four seasons. Constant complaining about winter won’t replace the season with summer Lake Michigan beach days. I get the inconvenience of winter. Everything takes a little bit longer to do. Car batteries die. Flights are subject to delays. Bad drivers. Gray skies make us blue. January is especially tough as the post-holiday hangover set in.

We forget that winter doesn’t stop the city from moving. We’re better than that. Life still goes on and we refuse to let snow paralyze us.

I remember the January 1999 blizzard. My friends and I went to a club on Elston Avenue; it was packed and no one heeded the meteorologists’ warnings. (Getting home was a three-day ordeal but we were in our early 20s and made it fun!)

During the polar vortex of 2014, a Chicago friend living in New York decided to make the most of a canceled flight. She celebrated her birthday here at a speakeasy. I and her other friends packed the basement on a Tuesday night. You would never know an arctic blast whirled about outside.

My dad is not above barbequing on Christmas.

This is the Chicago I appreciate. We are meaty and resilient.

I compiled a few tips to prevent you from falling into the winter whining trap.

• Spend quality time with friends in your home. Winter can be cozy with fireplaces, bourbon and conversation.
• Try new recipes that require hours. In the winter, I make an eight-hour marinara sauce or an eight-hour lamb on the weekends.
• Enjoy winter activities. When I lived in Minnesota, residents got mad if it was a mild winter because it interrupted ice fishing and snowmobiling. That’s the attitude! Ice skate, take your family sledding or have a snowball fight. We live in a winter wonderland.
• Look at pictures of humid summer days and remember how you complained about how hot it was.
• Warm up with hot chocolate and a visit to conservatory.
• Make a point to enjoy myriad cultural offerings in the city — from museums to storefront theater.
• While I don’t do New Year resolutions, I do use the time to reset in January. Currently, I’m doing the Daniel Fast. In previous years, I’ve done a 21-day financial fast.
• If you’re really going stir crazy, do something that reminds you of warm weather. Is there a scent you wear, drink you order, food you eat in the summer? Wrap yourself in that memory by indulging.

I leave you with this: Years ago a Miami friend moved to Chicago. People asked her why on earth she would do that. She said she’d take a blizzard over a hurricane. The next time you feel bad about our winter, remember that in Denmark it gets dark at 3:30 p.m. this time of year.

Mostly importantly, soak in Diane’s sage words: It’s winter; let’s work with it.

Natalie Moore is a reporter for WBEZ.org

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