I love winter. Maybe it is because I am from the Northern Hemisphere, but I just love cold, sunny winter mornings, frosty breath curling in the air, snuggling up with my babies reading books under the blankets.
Fashionwise, winter is much more fun, with boots, black and fur being more forgiving than jandals and bikinis.
So I never understand why people moan so much about winter, especially given that the season is so mild in the Bay you couldn't really call it winter. We are lucky to have had many days of blue skies and gorgeous sunshine.
Yes it is a bit nippy in the morning, but that is no reason to descend into the winter blues.
There are lots of positives about winter, as I was reminded by a friend's Facebook post this week that she accompanied with heartwarming pictures.
The list read:
"hazelnut hot chocolate ... OMG. Just one of the things I'm loving about winter 2015, along with:
- small children in hand knitting
- cats on laps
- early nights and good books
- catching up on some of the movies missed over the last couple of years (About Time, The Fault in Our Stars and The Best of Me)
- multi-coloured sunsets at the end of blue sky winter days
- getting wear out of coats and boots - novelty when living in jandal city 7 months of the year (just the way I like it)
- weather geeking at the big chill - can't pass by a good weather story
- memories of Fiji and dreaming of the next holiday
GO WINTER 2015! Roll on summer."
It was a breath of fresh cool air amid Facebook posts moaning about the flu and frost.
We are already more than halfway through winter; virtually on the downhill slope to summer.
When we get old, we will be counting how many winters we have left.
Don't wish away time moaning about the cold. Let's savour what's left of winter 2015.
-Annemarie Quill is a journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times.