Reflections on a winter in the field

Winter is nostalgic for me.  I’ve always loved the snow and the stillness that comes with winter.  The earth becomes rather dormant, and there’s a growing draw for hibernation.  It’s a time where I feel most mindful.  The sights, sounds, smells, feelings, and tastes are so much richer to me during this time of year.  The opportunity for reflection and gratitude is abundant.

Why am I sharing this?  Well, because this is the time every year that I feel most alive.  Even when the call for hibernation rings louder, I can’t help but redirect my attention to being outdoors.  Over the last 13 years, I’ve found myself in winter wonderlands.  Areas with consistent snowfall, cold temperatures, and active outdoor communities.  How could anyone feel the effects of seasonal affective disorder after being outside to have the frigid air hit your lungs, your nose hairs freeze as you inhale, and then peel off the layers of clothing by a fire while drinking a warm drink? Even when I was in the field as a field staff, I appreciated these exact moments.

I would see the forecast for the day and had the option to dread what was to come, or dress appropriately and still get myself outside.  Always ensuring I had on a hat, gloves, a zipped-up jacket, and ate more calories than I believed I could stomach.  Ask me to remember the faces or names of the young people who I worked with in the summer, and I couldn’t recall anything.  Ask me the same for the young people who I spent the winter months with, and I vividly share their stories.  These are young people who have left an imprint my life, whether they’ll ever know it or not.  I try to visit outdoor behavioral healthcare programs in the winter rather than the summer, if I can get there! Therefore, I admire and appreciate field staff who are choosing to work in the winter.  There is an unspoken bond that we all have. The same goes for the young participants who are out there not just surviving, but also working through their therapeutic process.  There’s something to be said about a person who does this in the winter versus another time of the year.

So, while the temperatures are continuing to drop, the snow is piling up, and we are settling in for a long winter I just wanted to reflect on my time in the field.  Although it was ages ago, it still feels like yesterday.  I wouldn’t take back that time for anything.  It made me stronger, wiser, and more appreciative for the little things in life.

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