How a Texan survives the Swedish winter

Today it has officially gone below freezing.  You know what that means – I now switch to the winter coat!  But that’s not really what this blog is about.

As I sit here in my very dark living room at 10am in the morning, I think about what I have to do to get through the dark Swedish winter every year.  After 13 years, I’m starting to figure it out.

1. I use a special sun lamp for 1 – 2 hours a day.

2. I take Vitamin D every morning as well as forcing my family to do the same.  I think my oldest son suspects I’m poisoning them since he keeps saying he never sees me actually eating the vitamin. (I do.)

3. I start looking forward to winter treat and candy days.  The only way to get through is to have something to look forward to.  I look forward to every Sunday advent where I allow myself to have a special Christmas pastry.

4. I read books about people trapped in the desert burning up.

5. Plenty of hot chocolate, lattes and tea.

Of course, when I relay this list to a life-long Swede, they generally laugh and say, “The rest of us just buy a ticket to Asia in January and get out of this place.”‘