"Was It Cold?!"
Coming home from an international adventure, we were surprised at the first question everyone asked us. Absolutely bursting with stories of magical snow moments, learning to ski, thrill rides and more, we were stopped short by the question on everyone’s mind:
“Was it cold?” They asked, with a grimace and negative tone, almost anticipating our horror stories.
“Huh? Yeah, of course,” I would say, “it was incredible, there was so much snow everywhere.”
The kids would launch into how we saw snow and how it tastes like frozen water, and I would be left thinking about their question. I wanted to say:
“Of course it was cold, that was the whole point.” We went to see the snow and go skiing, it would have been disappointing if it wasn’t cold. Or,
“Yeah it was cold but we were never cold.” Being in the cold doesn’t mean you feel cold. We were almost always cosy warm.
Hot chocolates taste the BEST on top of a mountain after a morning skiing.
Like, people live in the cold, it’s actually very normal as a human being to experience cold weather. We are the weirdos here in subtropical Australia who think a 15 degree day warrants turning the heater on.
It goes back to that old saying, ‘there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes.’ Those of us who live in warm climates, in my experience, hate the cold because we don’t have warm enough clothes to deal with it. I noticed years ago that it’s really hard to buy a proper warm jacket when you live in Queensland. So we go out in a flimsy hoodie and mini shorts and are upset by the cold southerly winds. We’re nuts.
In Melbourne I noticed people had big warm puffy jackets, warm shoes, and even vests and beanies. I was warm the whole time because I dressed as if it was going to be freezing. Then I came back to Coffs Harbour, stripped off the layers and puffy jacket (not a normal look around here), and was cold for the first time that winter. In New Zealand, the only time I was cold was when I took my gloves off to take photos and videos on top of a mountain in the snow (I’ve since bought touch-screen gloves). The kids were actually too hot in their ski lessons because of all the layers I’d dressed them in.
A few other thoughts:
The snow is the best bit! Our family was SO glad for the cold winter weather!
People telling me they wouldn’t travel somewhere because it’s too cold there. This is mind-boggling to me. Like, go in the summer then, if you don’t want to see the snow. Or simply get the appropriate clothes and gear – we borrowed most of ours, it doesn’t have to be expensive.
I would naturally avoid the heat – like, camping in full humidity blazing UV ray summer, I don’t know about that. The cold is just a nice warm fire and some warm layers. The humidity…ick. I know it’s awful to feel cold, but feeling too hot can be just as bad. As for wind, that’s pretty horrible at the beach when it’s blowing a gale and the sand is flicking up on you with every move. So we’ve learned to go to the football field and fly kites instead, or play/walk/ride around the botanic gardens. Or we go at low tide when you can escape the dry sand down near the water’s edge.
Believe it or not, people avoid where you live now because of the weather at certain times of year, but you’re coping just fine. And it’s the same in these cold climates – it’s actually fascinating to see how people live in different climates to our own.
Nature has seasons, and embracing those seasons is an opportunity to feel alive and part of the environment you live in. It’s also educational for kids.
‘No such thing as bad weather’ is an attitude and a value that you can practise at home:
What is your typical idea of ‘bad weather’ at home? Pick that day and go out and challenge yourself to enjoy it with the kids. Every time you do this, you grow your resilience to weather influences and your ability to enjoy yourselves. You learn how to have different types of fun, you try things you otherwise mightn’t have, and you fit more time outdoors and in nature into your lives. It’s all positive.
You also learn about how the gear you have or the clothes you wear influence your experience.
Toasty warm with my layers on, in the middle of winter, night time, in Melbourne (visiting Lightscape).
For example, in the rain, we started off ‘embracing the rain’ by dressing the kids in gumboots, waterproof overalls and a raincoat. They could splash as much as they liked and only their socks would end up wet (the boots filled up with water like a bucket). When they wore protective rain gear, we would do activities like walk, ride and jump in puddles. But then we had times when we just played in the rain in our normal clothes, in our driveway, so we could put the kids straight into the warm bath afterwards. When they wear normal clothes in the rain, the kids sit down in the water, race leaves, blow bubbles, all sorts of different types of play. We have learned that you can always change your clothes and get warm and dry again.
You can imagine how playing in the rain regularly means that when we do accidentally get wet from the rain, it’s never a big deal anymore. It’s just normal for the kids to feel wet and for us to go home and get dry.
Don’t use weather as an excuse to do nothing. Weather is a chance to feel alive.
Just think, if you avoid the cold you’re really missing out on some of the most incredible views and experiences the world has to offer. Obviously there are more than enough summer-time holidays and experiences to fill a hundred lifetimes, so if you chase summer you’ll be kept busy. But I think it would be a shame. We can fill our lives with what keeps us comfortable, or we can push and expand our comfort zones and make memories that stick because they are so different to our familiar experiences. Our endless days playing on the beach all roll together in our memories, but the three days of skiing stand out like beacons. And those beach days with crazy weather are memorable too.
Different weather gives us the opportunity to experience and remember more of our lives with our kids.
So if you ask me if it was cold camping in winter, watching the football at night in June in Melbourne, or skiing in New Zealand, you know what my answer will be? I think so, but I don’t know because I was always warm and too busy having fun to think about it.
Your Turn
Tell me in the comments below, would you have a winter holiday, or do you prefer to chase the sun?
Read Next:
Winter Clothes for Families - if your family is dressed for the cold, the weather won’t bother you!
A rainy day mini adventure - Bike Riding in Puddles