Winter is not broken summer
I've always liked winter as a season. I enjoy the cold, I like snowy days, and I appreciate that nature seems a little slower and a little quieter this time of year.
Unfortunately, the machine that runs our world doesn't care about seasonal changes. We must remain identically productive no matter the weather, it says. Do not change what you eat, how much you sleep, or what you do. Maintain the delusion that all days are interchangeable and fight to maintain uniformity.
But the thing is...we shouldn't be doing that. We shouldn't treat winter like it's a broken version of summer, cursing its differences as we fight to keep our routines unmolested. When businesses keep their summer hours and summon workers at 5 am on slippery streets, it proves they only care about the numbers that power their organization, not the people that run it. Spreadsheets don't experience winter, but us here in the real world, we do.
I'm ready for everyone to adopt winter routines that respect the daily light. There will be less time to go to the bank or the dentist, but oh no, I guess I'll have to change my schedule a little bit. (Terrible, right?) I also want it to be perfectly acceptible to cancel any appointment due to the slightest amount of dodgy weather. Piloting 6,000 lb vehicles on flat, slippery surfaces while driving 20x the speed we walk is not a smart thing to do in the snow.
Stop this idiotic insistence that everything should be the same in winter as it is the rest of the year. The world outside our door changes, and we should bend with it. Go to sleep earlier and wake later. Eat soups and breads and hearty meals. Enjoy the cold air but don't get angry when you can't stay outside for hours on end. Stay inside and read a book when the sky is trying to pummel you. Embrace winter rituals and let winter embrace you.
And no, you're not tougher or braver than everyone for ignoring the weather and carrying on as usual. You're displaying full ignorance of the world around you, and no one should praise that. Instead, let's pity you for missing out on a unique season that has a lot to share with us.
Edit: After publishing, someone shared this C. S. Lewis quote with me:
“Everyone begins as a child by liking Weather. You learn the art of disliking it as you grow up. Haven’t you ever noticed it on a snowy day? The grown-ups are all going about with long faces, but look at the children—and the dogs? They know what snow’s made for.”