I live in Northern Michigan, where we are blessed with all four seasons. For a long time, I dreaded the gray and wintry months. Now I welcome them, and in doing so I’ve found a surprising amount of peace and joy.

I’ve learned that the grass always seems greener on the other side. I used to long for summer, yet when it arrived I often felt overwhelmed. After long, slow winters, we try to pack all the fun into the warmer days. Nearly every weekend fills up with plans, and living in a tourist-based economy means the town suddenly comes alive. Everything opens back up. Instead of feeling rested, I felt rushed.

Over time, I’ve learned to sail the wild waters of summertime with more gratitude. I’ve learned to choose where to slow down, even when life feels full. That shift has made summer far more enjoyable.

I truly believe we were meant to live in harmony with nature and the seasons. Summer invites us to be busy, tending gardens, preserving food, and soaking in long sunlit days. The early sunrise and late sunset signal to our bodies that there is more to do. Winter, with its short days and long nights, quietly invites us to rest, reflect, and move more slowly. While modern life doesn’t allow us to fully hibernate, there are still small ways we can honor that rhythm and give our bodies and hearts time to recover.

Even when life doesn’t easily bend to the seasons, we can still weave seasonal living into our days in ways that bring rest, joy, and meaning.

Embracing the seasons can also be deeply enriching for our children.

In our home, this shows up naturally through homeschooling. Much of what we learn follows the seasons. Nature study, especially, is meant to be seasonal. As children watch the same trees, animals, and landscapes change throughout the year, they develop a deeper understanding and appreciation for the natural world. They notice the geese and herons returning from the south, filling the sky with their honks and calls. They recognize that when those same birds head south again, winter is close behind. They watch animals gather food in the fall, preparing for the long months ahead.

One book I especially love is Exploring Nature with Children. It gently walks through each season with thoughtfully chosen book suggestions, poetry, art ideas, and simple prompts that help children notice and understand seasonal changes. It encourages curiosity, observation, and connection rather than rushing through facts.

Another way I’ve learned to embrace the seasons is by keeping certain things special to a particular time of year. Anticipation itself becomes part of the joy. We save certain movies for certain seasons. We eat foods that feel right for the weather. Watermelon tastes sweeter when it belongs only to summer. Warm soups feel more nourishing when they arrive in winter. While modern grocery stores offer nearly everything year-round, waiting makes food feel more meaningful.

We also enjoy eating what’s available locally. Many fruits and vegetables only come from our farm markets in summer and fall, and that makes them feel like gifts. Foraging adds another layer of seasonal excitement. In spring, we eagerly search for morel mushrooms. Summer and fall bring fruits, herbs, and greens. Even winter offers surprises, like pine needle tea or rose hips that turn chewy and jam-like after a hard frost.

So what can embracing the seasons actually look like?

In winter, it often means turning toward warmth and rest. We make nourishing drinks like bone broth cocoa, homemade peppermint lattes, or simple herbal teas with ginger and cinnamon. Meals become heartier. Soups, stews, and slow-cooked foods show up often. We choose a few activities that can only happen this time of year, building snow forts, making suet cakes for the birds, freezing bits of art outdoors, or lighting ice lanterns as the sun sets early. Winter is also when we read more, make movie nights feel special, learn a new handicraft, and decorate our windows and walls with cozy art. Some nights we bundle up to sit by an outdoor fire with cocoa or step into the quiet to watch the stars, which feel especially bright and close in winter. Following animal tracks in the snow and imagining their hidden lives beneath the surface never gets old.

Spring feels like noticing again. We look for cues of new life, the first flowers pushing through, buds swelling on branches, birds returning from the south, nests tucked into trees. We bring spring flowers inside and let them sit casually in jars on the table. We splash in puddles, take walks in the rain, and begin eating early spring edibles like dandelion greens, young nettles, lily shoots, and morel mushrooms. Spring is also a time for new beginnings. That might look like planning a garden, big or small, or even trying something entirely new, like raising chickens. Spring cleaning takes on a lighter feel too, with fresh scents, open windows, and the simple pleasure of a clean, bright space waking up along with the earth.

Summer invites a different kind of slowness. We eat fresh fruit from local farm markets and let those visits become part of our rhythm. We make simple, hydrating drinks like hibiscus tea or sun tea and drink them slowly. We wear sundresses because they feel good, read books in the shade of trees, and take long, unhurried days at creeks and rivers. Summer is a beautiful time to stay close to home. Backyard campouts, evening porch sits, barefoot walks, shelling peas, slicing fruit for the freezer, and hanging laundry in the sun all become part of daily life. We keep flowers in the house, press petals for art, and enjoy picnics made from whatever is in season. Summer doesn’t have to be rushed to be full.

Fall carries a quiet richness. Cooler air, knit sweaters, cold cheeks, and warm drinks. It’s a season for gathering and storing. We bring home winter squash and apples and slowly fill the pantry. We freeze and can food, one small project at a time, without pressure to do it all. Fall is perfect for slow drives just to photograph the changing leaves, pressing those leaves for art, roasting pumpkin seeds, and writing letters. It’s a reflective season that naturally turns our attention inward while preparing us for the months ahead.


Embracing the seasons is both natural and enjoyable. And it brings me back to a quote that I think fits this seasonal, simple living quite well. ” The true way to live is to enjoy every moment as it passes and surely it is in the everyday things around us that the beauty of life lies…”- Laura Ingalls Wilder