Yay, it’s winter! Oh god, it’s winter.

 

Stage 1: Excitement

Snowboarding, skiing, sledding, ice skating, hockey, snowmobiling, snowmen, ice fishing… winter can not get here fast enough!

Photo by Richard Gaston

 

You break out your cold weather gear.

Photo by Lorcan Finnegan

 

And you can’t wait to dive in.

Photo by Cody Howell

 

Stage 2: Extreme Winter Sports Bliss

The snow starts to pile up. You put on 27 layers of clothing and push your body to the limits.

Photo by Matt and Agnes Hage

 

You say things like: “A little snow won’t stop me from spending time outdoors”…

Photo by Garrett Grove

 

…and “hey, I can still surf in a wetsuit.”

Photo by Zak Bush

 

Stage 3: Acceptance

You marvel at how the snow makes everything feel more peaceful.

Whether you’re in the city.

Photo by Heidi Lee

 

Or the country.

Photo by Justin Capp

 

And then there’s a snow day and you’re like, OMG winter is amazing!

Photo by Jacob Johnson

 

 

Stage 4: Denial

But come February, it all gets a little too much to bear.

Photo by Richard Gaston

 

No matter where you look there’s snow everywhere. Seriously, it’s fricking everywhere!

Photo by Cody Howell

 

There comes a point where you’re like, what did the ground even look like?

Photo by Hudson Gardner

 

You wonder if it will ever end.

Photo by Topo Designs

 

Stage 5: Spring! (Maybe.)

Suddenly spring appears.

Photo by Nadine Mojado

 

You’re like, holy crap, look at all the green!

Photo by Tracy Zhang

 

You make a pact with the universe: No. More. Snow.

Photo by Derek Shapton

 

Of course it snows again. You’re all like WTF, I thought we had a deal?

But then the sun sets on all that white Mother Nature just dumped and you think, okay, spring can wait a few more weeks.

This is pretty cool.

Photo by Bradley Castaneda