Winter

winter |ˈwintər|
noun
the coldest season of the year, in the northern hemisphere from December to February and in the southern hemisphere from June to August : the tree has a good crop of berries in winter | [as adj. ] the winter months.

Most of my memories are of summer. I used to hate winter. It was like my entire body shut down. My mind used to take a little holiday to the warmer recesses of my consciousness and everything fell asleep. This year I decided that winter and I will have it out. I'm getting on in the years, you know? I can't afford to lose three months every year just because of the weather.

I developed a three-part strategy for surviving winter:

1. Layer.

I realised that I hated winter because I was too fucking cold. One would think that that would be obvious, but my hatred of winter used to prevent me from buying the appropriate clothes. I figured that maybe it would go away if I pretended it didn't exist. I spent 25 winters wearing my normal summer clothes with a jacket during the freezing winter months, and getting pissed off at being cold all the time. Pretty damn stupid, no?

This winter I developed the Suck It Winter wardrobe. Underwear + tank top/t-shirt + leggings + slong-sleeved shirt + jeans + jersey + jacket. Add to that gloves, scarves and hats. I was toasty! If someone had to push me over I probably wouldn't have been able to get back up, but I wasn't cold.

2. Food and friends

I discovered that I don't suck at cooking. I'm a vegetarian and I eat a lot of salads, so winters used to be challenging. This winter I discovered the joy of slow-roasted tomatoes, of soups and pasta sauces, of risotto and even of vetkoek.

Food is better shared, so I implemented a weekly girls' night with my best friends. They would swing by, bottle of wine in hand, and I would cook something comforting. Because my house still very much resembles a student's house (one old couch, a bookshelf, a desk) we would sit on the floor, eat, drink, talk, share, giggle. The memories of these nights will probably warm my heart forever.

3. Colour

I like to wear black all the time. I loved my black jacket, my boots. I only wore black jerseys all winter. It looks lovely, but it gets a little drab, so I added colour. Hair colour (hello redhead, you sexy thing!), makeup, music, people, beer.

Johannesburg is starting to look lovely. From my bedroom window I look out onto jasmine in bloom, the trees are getting greener, the air smells sweeter, but this year I'm reluctant to say goodbye to winter.