Surviving Life Below Zero - Alaska Life, Lately Vol. 2

Mar 03, 2021

I think one of the most frequently asked questions I get when I talk about winters in Alaska is, “How do you do it?” It’s a question that’s normally followed up quickly with the asker stating that they “could never live in a place” that gets as cold as it does here or where winter lasts for a seemingly endless amount of time. When my husband selected Fort Wainwright for our first duty station out of West Point, I’ll be honest that surviving winter was the last thing on my mind.

But as our second winter in Fairbanks, Alaska drags on, I’ve found myself thinking more and more about how I’m actually getting through the winters when I get asked this question. There has been a stark contrast between our first and second winters here. Partially due to the weather itself but also largely in part due to the coronavirus pandemic. It’s made me really have to dig my heels in and embrace the winter months spent mostly at home.

When you think about it, people have been surviving these harsh winters in Alaska for hundreds, even thousands of years. My husband’s ancestors learned how to survive with the most minimal of supplies. It makes me kind of chuckle now when people ask me how I survive when I think about all of the modern comforts and amenities that we have in 2021.

The truth is that I survive because I have to. I have to be a wife and a mother and all a generally productive member of society. I find things to occupy my time and cope with the seemingly limitless time spent indoors doing whatever I can to keep myself and my toddler occupied. Sometimes that means fun activities and random baking sprees and sometimes that means days where screen limits don’t exist.

I load up on over-the-counter Vitamin D and sink into daily routines. I schedule things to look forward to, even if that’s a package delivery from my favorite shop or swinging through a drive thru to grab a sweet treat or some extra caffeine in the afternoon. Recently I’ve been focusing a lot on taking better care of myself by doing simple things like drinking enough water and making sure I do my skin care routine morning and night. I’ve started brightening up our space by bringing home fresh flowers every other week.

Surviving Life Below Zero - Alaska Life, Lately Vol. 2

It can be easy to assume that this is one of the most challenging seasons of my life. And while it does give me a particularly tough time through certain parts of the year, it has also taught me a great deal about perspective. Are there days where I am absolutely miserable? Yes. As someone who struggles with depression and anxiety, those mental health issues can be compounded by the lack of sunlight and bitter cold extreme temperatures of Alaska. But when I really stop to think about my life I always find myself asking this question: Is this the most unhappy I’ve ever been?

The short answer that I will emphatically yell from the rooftops is NO! Sure, it can be -40 (actual temperature) one day and almost 30 the next and in the dead of winter we get maybe four hours of sunlight if we’re lucky but I am so grateful for this life. I have a family to care for which helps me thrive, I have a husband whom I love dearly, and a precious toddler who makes every day, even the ones spent completely isolated in doors, an adventure. My life has been filled with blessings beyond my ability to measure. I always juxtapose my bad days surviving life below zero with what I would call my worst days.

Many of you might not know this about me because I was just starting to get into social media then or maybe because you’re new around here but after college, when I was working my first real job, I sank into a deep state of depression. I was waking up before the sun to commute to work where I would sit at a computer all day doing nothing (this is actually when I started blogging) before trekking back home. I would heat up whatever frozen meal I had on hand before promptly passing out on my uncomfortable Ikea sofa in the living room before 7pm. I promise you that the rest of that part of my story is way more bleak than this small snippet seems but that is a story for another day, my friends.

The bottom line is that our time here in Alaska is fleeting and temporary. I could spend my time here miserable and complaining or I can focus on the small moments of joy that can only come through experiencing life below zero. Like the afternoon sunshine when the sky is crystal clear and you haven’t seen the sun after 1pm for months. Like the week of snow that most people would grumble about but that really means that Spring is around the corner. Like the adventures we’ll be able to have our final winter here when I’m not pregnant. Like the joy that the summer months bring when the sun never sets. Like the times when I can look outside my bedroom window and see the Aurora Borealis.

To be completely honest, one of the hardest things about living in Alaska through a harsh winter is listening to everyone in the lower 48 complaining about how winter never ends there or how cold it is when we don’t really get spring until the end of April. I’ve often caught myself saying, “I promise to never complain about winter anywhere else ever again” just like I won’t ever complain about wifi anywhere else. I’m a firm believer that sometimes you just need to complain so I get it when people complain about their winters. I guess I just have a new appreciation for the season as a whole.

Just like I’ve found a new appreciation for winter, I can’t begin to describe the new adoration I have for spring and summer. When those first signs of spring start to hit here in Alaska, it’s an indescribable, almost soulful experience. Winter collapses into spring with the rebirth of daylight and collapses back in on itself again in the fall. Experiencing the seasons in Alaska is truly one of the most remarkable experiences I’ve had in my almost 30 years of life.

I’m not really sure why I’ve written this today other than to reassure you that spring will, in fact, come again. Whatever season of life you find yourself in, no matter how grueling, the sun will rise and shine on you again and buds of happiness will bloom again. Stay strong, friends.