There comes a point in winter where you stop fighting it.
Early on, you have energy. You complain. You make jokes about moving somewhere warm. You talk tough. You say things like, “This won’t break me.”
That version of you is gone now.
This is the late stage.
This is the part where you stand at the window in the morning, look outside, see that it snowed again, and just nod.
Not angry.
Not surprised.
Just… yes. Of course it did.
You don’t even check the temperature anymore. The number doesn’t matter. It’s cold. It’s been cold. It will continue to be cold until the sun burns out or June shows up. Whichever comes first.
You put on the same winter gear you’ve been wearing for months. The coat that makes you look like a walking sleeping bag. The boots that weigh more than your hopes. The gloves that somehow still don’t keep your hands warm.
Outside, everything is the same colour.
White.
Grey.
More white.
The snowbanks are no longer cute. They are walls now. Permanent structures. Small frozen monuments to your suffering.
At some point, you stop clearing the snow properly. You’re not shoveling anymore. You’re negotiating.
“Good enough,” you say, leaving a thin layer of packed ice that will absolutely try to kill you later.
Your car makes new noises. You ignore them. Your car is tired too.
People stop talking about winter like it’s a season. It’s just life now. Someone says, “When it warms up,” and nobody asks when that is. We all know that’s not a real date.
The strangest part is how calm you become.
No more rage. No more dramatic sighs. You walk outside into the cold, it hits your face like a brick, and you just keep walking.
This is who you are now.
You belong to winter.
And then one day, something strange happens.
The sun feels warm.
Not bright. Not hopeful.
Warm.
You stop for a second. You look around like you don’t trust it. Like winter is hiding behind a snowbank, waiting to jump out and ruin your life again.
But for a moment, just a moment, it feels like you might survive this.
Until it snows again next week.
Because winter isn’t finished with you yet.
It never is.
The CJBuzz 