Cold Weather Roadblocks to our Green Schedule

I feel like we got into a green groove this spring. The weather got warmer and we started walking everywhere.

By summer the car was getting dusty in the garage and we covered miles and miles on foot every day. Add the fresh fruit from the local market and the long lingering days at the beach for supper, and now I can see why things are changing around this house with the onset of winter.

We use the car way too much. Rather than risk the slippery walk to preschool as the cold rain pours from out of nowhere, we seek the safety, and moreover the comfort, of the car. Even when the forecast doesn’t call for rain or snow or anything especially challenging weather-wise, the boys and I look at each other, shrug and figure bad weather comes out of nowhere in Chicago, and anyway, who wants to be stranded?

As a family who tries to eat locally produced organic foods, fresh fruit is scarce. This is our first year striving to be localvores, and it is tougher than we thought. Have you seen the new label in the produce section that says “Grown in the USA”? Well, where in the USA, I ask? The United States is pretty big. Where, exactly, is the food we’re purchasing produced? Usually I find myself standing at Whole Foods babbling these questions to myself when I notice people are watching me, and I am actually standing there without my children. Whoops!

I miss the colorful array of fruits and veggies from the spring and summer months when left with the dusty, dull hues of root veggies in the fall and winter months. (No disrespect; I love the sweet potato, but you must agree it doesn’t have the same tasty zing as blackberries or beautiful ripe tomatoes.)

Less outdoor activity (and less sunshine) leaves me a drowsy, carb-loading, lethargic mom. Remember the movie The Shining wherein “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”? Not as bad, but you get the picture. Lately the boys have been asking why Dad gets home in the middle of the night (translation 5:30pm!)? Even our two little preschoolers are tired around the same time we would have been heading to the park after dinner if it were a spring or summer month. Amazing what the seasons can do to you!

Can I really blame the winter season for all of this?

Maybe the boys and I could get secondhand snow suits and face-masks and venture out at least twice a week for school drop-offs and pick-ups, and leave the car alone. Maybe we could dust off the cookbooks to find some recipes to bring the vibrancy back to the dinner table. And maybe, just maybe, we can take advantage of the time indoors and build more forts, do more yoga and play (our favorite) charades to keep our bodies and minds perpetually moving as the days get shorter and the darkness gets longer.

Maybe we could cuddle up, pour an Intelligentsia hot chocolate and read a good book together. I mean, what is winter really for, right?

An original 5 Minutes for Going Green post. Pop by The Eco Chic Organizer for more good, clean fun.

And remember the contest for the Programmable Thermostat Giveaway with The Home Depot has been extended to December 7th at 7pm EST, and all you have to do is comment on the giveaway post with a valid email address; if you haven’t yet entered, what are you waiting for?

One Response to Cold Weather Roadblocks to our Green Schedule
  1. Jenni (My Web of Life)
    December 2, 2008 | 6:00 pm

    This all sounds very familiar…thanks for a great post!