January: Aussie Style
A tree branch fell on my poor car. Luckily the ice was so thick that it protected my car.
January. The first month of the year. Everyone is so full of hope for a better year. Winter is in full swing—at least for everyone in the United States. This week, the American Midwest experienced the biggest snow storm in a decade. Scraping ice off car windshields and shoveling snow from the driveway are the hallmarks of a classic January winter.
I can’t say I miss the icy weather. I can barely drive in sunny conditions, let alone on ice. I avoid it because I value my life far too much to take that kind of risk. Even so, I couldn’t drive my car right now even if I wanted to—a tree branch fell on it. Thankfully, a thick layer of ice and snow protected it from the impact, sparing my car from any real damage. Plus, it’s insured, so there’s that.
All this to say, I’m more than happy to be spending January in Australia, where summer is in full bloom. Right now, I’m sitting on a park bench in Canberra, wearing sunglasses, sweating buckets in my T-shirt and shorts, and enjoying a frozen Icee pop straight from the freezer.
Of course, I do feel bad for everyone enduring the snow storm. Waking up extra early to scrape ice off a windshield is a uniquely soul-crushing chore. One of my friends, who’s in medical school, told me that, because of the storm, her in-person classes were canceled because of the weather and moved online. “It feels like we’re back in the pandemic lockdown,” she said over the phone.
The contrast between their January and mine feels almost cartoonish. While my family back in the Midwest is buried under 20 inches of snow, I’m out here debating which hiking trail to tackle next.
But let’s be real—having summer in January isn’t just a lifestyle; it’s a power move. While much of the world is wrapped in scarves and buried under blankets, I’m rocking shorts and basking in sunlight until 9 p.m. Sure, there’s a 50% chance of encountering a rogue magpie or a heatwave so intense it feels like the Earth itself has a personal vendetta, but that’s a small price to pay for the privilege of a summery January.
To my friends and family trapped in the icy grip of the Midwest, I’ll pray that the groundhog misses its shadow this year and spring arrives sooner than expected.
Cheers to January, Aussie style.
