As leaves have dropped and the sun set earlier than I thought possible, the morning brisk air and the occasional gusts of frigid wind were aggressively hugging every part of me every time I stepped outside, making my shoulders clench immediately and forcing my mind to miss the lack of this feeling back home.
Calls with my mom became plan-making conversations about the needed gear to continue being able to exist around comfortably, and the forecast checks became an important part of my ‘getting ready’ routine.
Aside from all the logistics required to ensure cozy survival, I started to witness how everyone around me who calls Massachusetts their home way longer than I have would start getting ready for the famous and very real winter here.
Seeing everyone trying to be effectively prepared for it, buying concerning amounts of salt, pulling out the longest jackets I have ever seen, and gearing up with ‘snow-proof equipment’. I even got a taste of how the fellow residents would express the really funny ways of forecasting how heavy the season will be, with phrases like: ‘Squirrels are getting bigger than past years,’ or ‘We’ll definitely have a white Christmas.’
And when it was time for the temperature and snow to drop, it was inevitable to feel the sense of community growing silently within everyone in a very special way. I became a witness to the kindness that makes this state so great, with people helping each other clear out the snow from the sidewalks or their cars, even creating an opportunity so kids can successfully profit from it, or in the quietest ways, when they would check on you when you slip on the very slippery walkways.
Seasonal flavors and the various snow sports, specifically just cross-country skiing and ice skating, since I am still both bad and scared at navigating successfully through the snow, were all added to the new experiences I so much wish to continue to have for the upcoming years.
Even the fashion that I was able to adapt to, mastering layering and matching scarves with beanies, has been in my now personal favorites as well.
In the end, despite the complaints I have about how uniquely challenging everything is during this season, living through the change of seasons and being present in every single activity designed to enjoy this time, I continue to feel gratitude for the opportunity of creating a second home here.
–Mar. 2, 2026–
