hygge: winter 2021 (covid) style

Hygge: (pronounced hoo-guh) is a Danish word used when acknowledging a feeling or moment, whether alone or with friends, at home or out, ordinary or extraordinary, as cozy, charming or special.
(also known as: “Tricia’s Continued Survival Strategy for Winter 2020-2021” )

Winter has never been a favorite of mine (other than the month of Christmas, of course). Growing up in NJ, and attending university in PA, meant plenty of years worth of snow, ice, biting winds, frozen fingers, dreary landscapes, not enough sun, runny noses and wetness creeping into the accidentally exposed cracks of my outwear, frustrating the hell out of me.

In some parts of the world, winter spans an unimaginable lifetime. (Or, in actuality, months and months and months).

“How do you survive the coldest, darkest months here?”, we asked our wicked smart and funny Icelandic tour guide during our August visit several years ago.

“Oh! We drink. We are great drinkers! Vodka. Do you want some? We also make babies and get many university degrees.”

MmKay. Options. I like it. 

Side note: this same tour guide was horrified that we all ate, and enjoyed, crab.

“We wouldn’t even feed crab to our CATS!”, she exclaimed with disgust.  Apparently, bottom feeders + seaside towns + storms and shipwrecks = ​“You could be eating your neighbor! Ack!”

So, I have given some thought to what Hygge may look like during this particular season of predominant isolation. From now until March (ohgodwhy), you will find me indulging in a list of options to keep the deepest winter blues at bay. Or at least, to minimize their power and be reminded of patience and hope.

How do you make the most of these difficult winter days, especially with greater limitations in place? Please share in the comments!

1. Flavored coffees + teas, inside of cute/funny/pretty mugs. I will never not adore a cleverly dressed cup of something warm and tasty! Mugs are one of my favorite gifts to receive. I'd fill all my cupboards with them if Bran would allow it! The trick is to pay attention to each step in the beverage creation process. It's a lovely mindfulness practice: Make it a sacred ceremony. Engage all our senses. Don’t rush. Enjoy.

2. Bundled evening walks with Ivy. (we’ll see how long this one actually lasts). She helps me fill my lungs with fresh air after hours spent indoors, reminds me to move, and allow the starlit sky to put things into perspective. Sometimes the cold hitting my face on the first step outside feels precisely as deliciously jarring as a jump into the freezing ocean on a hot day: A necessary plunge to awaken the cells from a state of stagnation. Bam! You’re alive. Feel that?

3. Baking pastries, eating one (two, probably three) and then delivering the rest to the doorsteps of loved ones. This fills the house with heavenly scents but keeps the tummy-turning excess away. 

4. Candles, candles, candles. Most of them flameless. I’m sensitive to smells, so other than a select few I keep in the rotation, I prefer the look of flickering light over the too-strong smell so many exude.

5. Winter movies. Vibes like “Tumbledown”, “Bridget Jones” , “Serendipity” , “Groundhog Day” (eek, is this too close to pandemic-home now?), “New In Town”, “While You Were Sleeping”, “Grumpy Old Men” , “Miracle”, “When Harry Met Sally” ...we’re keeping it light under the weight of winter, ya know?

6. Lotion all over my bodacious, pregnant bod post-shower or bath, followed by extra TLC on the ol’ tootsies via snuggle socks. I love to soak in a tub so hot that it almost burns off a layer of my skin (<--exaggeration. but yea I like it real hot). I’ve been told I shouldn’t do this while pregnant, but Saylor turned out beautifully and still adores bathing with her mama, so I’m not so worried about accidentally boiling this babe, either.

7. Stretching in a warm, sunny living room will hopefully help thaw my limbs and heart. Pregnancy stretches is a more accurate description, as there will be minimal feats of strength. Did you know a woman with child over the age of 35 (hi, me!) is clinically labeled a “geriatric pregnancy”? Yea, well, this Golden Girl is greasing her joints to prevent any hip breaks. 

8. Read and read and read and read. Read in bed with a diffuser full of essential oils humming beside me. Read on the couch covered in layers of blankets and Ivy’s head on my lap. Read in front of the fireplace, with my daily allotment of caffeine. Read my magazines delivered for free, thanks to a seemingly never ending amount of expiring United Miles Brandon has, that need to be cashed in for random magazines or lost into the mileage abyss. Read outloud to Brandon, since he falls asleep trying to read on his own. Story time is such a happy time for me. I am in need of recommendations, always. Whaddya got for me?

9. Crockpot meals once or twice a week. Makes dining in daily feel homey and nourishing, and the leftovers keep so well.​ I have started prepping most dinners by 11am, acknowledging that by 4 o’clock I am super spent and zapped of my will to cook. As I tell my clients daily: no shame in figuring out your own rhythms and tools to set yourself up for the most success possible. 

10. Coloring! I say this without a trace of humor: I have been wayyyyy ahead of the zen coloring movement for YEARS. Kicking myself for not capitalizing on my stress soothing go-to back in the early 2000’s. This season I’ll be filling out a coloring book of postcards, then sending them off to people I love, miss, just wanna say HI to. Let me know if ya want one. No form of connection is too small these days!

11. Music playing from morning until night. Lean into your vibe that day. We’ve been rotating the likes of: both quarantine Taylor albums, Bon Iver, Chris Stapleton, Maggie Rogers, Leon Bridges or Bonnie Raitt Pandora stations, Fleetwood Mac, and Frozen I&II soundtracks, which make me want to gouge my eardrums out from over-listening, but damn does it make Saylor so freaking happy to hear. ElsaAnnaOlafSven (as Say calls you all at once), you haunt me.​  

12. Light therapy for a few minutes each day. Snagged a lamp on Amazon, nothing fancy, just your basic UV-Free version. I'm experimenting with keeping it on my desk during client sessions, or perhaps moving it to my nightstand to help me rise from winter slumber with a bit more ease. Again, no shame in inviting in whatever tools may be available to aid us on our wellness journeys.

Winter will continue to unfold for many weeks (I repeat: ohgodwhy). I would LOVE your thoughts on Hygge in general, and especially any ideas or suggestions of what to add to this list! I will also pop back on to update as I trial/error/pivot my own efforts. 

Grace & Peace,

Trish
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