March in the north country is known to induce cabin fever and winter doldrums. But these conditions are reversible.

The Danes, Swedes and Norwegians are experts in dealing with winter’s gray days, long nights and chilly temperatures. They consistently rank among the happiest nations on earth.

The Danish word “hygge” has no counterpart in English. The following attempt at a translation is my favorite: ” The essence of hygge is to surround yourself in a warm, cozy atmosphere with people you care about and enjoy something you love.” Having coffee with friends in a favorite cafe, sharing a homemade meal, cuddling up and watching old movies or lighting many candles are all examples of Hygge.

My husband and I practiced hygge even before we knew the word. When nights are frigid and the wind is rattling the house, we pick up our small kitchen table and move it in front of the living room fireplace. As soon as we sit down to eat, a parade of cats comes in and surrounds us. Thoughts of the wretched weather vanish in the warmth.

The Norwegian word “friluftsliv” is literally translated “free life air” and is a philosophy of life in Norway and Sweden. Rather than being tourists viewing nature, the Scandinavians feel connected and part of nature. Going on hikes, spending a month near a lake, river or the sea, feeling the rhythm of the seasons and being at home when away from the bustling material world are viewed as mandatory to well being.

I am in tune with much of the friluftsliv way of life with one big caveat. When it is freezing cold outside and the wind is gusting 30 miles per hour, all I want is hygge…..lots and lots of it.

My ninth year of weekly Suitcase Lady blogs begins this week. I began the blog in 2007 when America was mired in the Iraq War, the economy was collapsing and mass shootings were in the headlines.

These horrible events were becoming the predominant topics of conversation whenever I met with family and friends. To keep a sense of balance, I felt a strong need to purposefully focus on the happier aspects of my personal life and the small sphere in which I spend my days. The author, Phyllis Theroux, states this impulse perfectly in her new book, The Journal Keeper. She writes, “I learned not to immortalize the darkness….what I needed was a place in which to collect the light.”

I decided to write a blog for friends, family and anyone needing a small break from the daily headlines. The blog would be about a one minute read: I know people’s time is precious. And since our lives are weighed down by current events, I wanted my topics to be antidotes to the news. I need to believe that we can create joy in the small theater of our lives even as the storms rage around us.

To celebrate nine years, I’m going to borrow an idea from Jon Talton who marked his blog’s anniversary by reposting his favorite blogs through the years. My husband (and technical partner in the blog) recently surprised me by gathering all 417 posts in a book. Ironically, I selected the following eight postings the old fashioned way, by leafing through the pages. And, of course, I just broke my one minute rule. Click links for time travel…

2007 – Islands
2008 – Duck
2009 – Sex
2010 – Frances
2011 – Directions
2012 – Childhood
2013 – Snowman
2014 – Piggy

I’ve always been an incurable romantic. I love everything about Valentine’s Day: the lacy hearts, the candy in heart shaped boxes and the abundance of flowers. And all this brightness, sweetness and beauty arrives in the gray, cold month of February when it is most needed.

An added bonus is that even Christians do not know exactly which of its three Saint Valentines the holiday is honoring. No one gets insulted if I say, “Happy Valentine’s Day”. This is a stress free and low key holiday.

But one thing has always troubled me. The emphasis on Valentine’s Day is on romantic love; girlfriends, boyfriends, husbands, wives and lovers. Sadly, romantic love is a gift of pure chance, and Cupid’s arrows are notoriously random. You’re lucky if you are in love.

Everyone, however, does need to have love and to give love in order to be a happy human being. Fortunately, many kinds of love exist, and Valentine’s Day can be expanded to celebrate love’s myriad manifestations such as:

• The love teachers give to their students, even the troubled ones
• The love given by medical workers especially those who go into war zones and epidemic hot spots
• The love given to the elderly by workers in assisted livings and nursing homes
• The love environmentalists give to the earth

The Beatles got it right again, “All you need is love”. Doesn’t say it is only that romantic stuff that counts.

In honor of Groundhog’s Day and the groundhogs’ number one fan, Donna, aka the Chicken Lady, my Tuesday blog is on Monday this week. To clarify, Donna was the Poultry Superintendent of the Wisconsin State Fair for many years. This fact does not cause the groundhogs of the world to doubt her devotion to them.

Friends immeasurably enrich our lives, and we count Donna among our friends, as do many. Donna is also an experience. Who else would send us 38 consecutive years of Groundhog’s Day cards?

In 1990, Donna gave a gigantic Groundhog’s Day party at a downtown Milwaukee restaurant……a true highlight of that winter’s social season.

After 25 years, memory is selective, but I vividly recall Donna greeting all of us with her million dollar smile and her feet clad in enormous groundhog slippers. What my husband and I did not recall was that she asked all of her guests to write a piece for a time capsule. She declared, “Tonight these words of wisdom will be sealed in a box to be guarded by the Grand and Regal Patron of the Royal Order of Groundhogs (in other words, our lovable and sometimes a little wacky Donna). If she does not lose this national treasure in her studio, we will have a formal reading on February 2, 2000. It will then be time to marvel at our insights and great visionary abilities….”

2000 came and went without a reading. But in our mail last week our words and picture came back from twenty five years ago. Here are our words of wisdom. Thanks, Donna, for ALWAYS SAVING EVERYTHING.

We predict that in the next decade we will see Groundhog’s Day proclaimed a national holiday….of course, it will be celebrated on a Monday. Chickens and groundhogs will take their rightful places in society. The groundhogs will use computers to make better weather forecasts and the chickens will scratch their way to the top.

We  think some things that should be buried with the 80’s are cholesterol microwave ovens, car oil change places, fast food, 6:00PM meetings, sequel movies, blackened Cajun food, VCRs and Northwest Airlines.

Even if the groundhog sees his shadow today, there always will always be sunshine when Donna is around.

There are two words no child should ever say to me. Those words are “I’m bored”.

I have occasionally even given kids a peremptory warning: “Don’t tell me you’re bored because you won’t like what I will tell you.”

When a young person does whine, “I’m bored”, I simply tell the truth. “Only boring people get bored.”

That reply can shock an entire classroom into momentary silence. Seldom do adults speak concisely and directly to kids in today’s politically correct world. “Have you made a good choice?” or “What can I do to help you?” are more commonly heard reactions to rotten behavior. I do not wish to be a character out of Lemony Snickett, but I don’t want to be an enabler, either. I am not responsible for anyone’s boredom.

So it was with great interest that I read a review of the book, A Country Called Childhood, by Jay Griffiths. Here is an excerpt by the New York Time’s reviewer, Andrew Solomon:

Griffiths points out that the word “bored” appeared only after 1750, in the beginning of the capitalistic age, and that Dickens coined the word “boredom”. “Children reared on toys and products provided by corporations are learning a terrible lesson: They are learning that they have a scarcity within, that they cannot provide for their own play, or rely on their imagination, that they are impoverished beggars of the entertainment industry.” She explains, “If children can’t pretend, they are condemned to someone else’s reality.” This, in turn, leads to children who become “the possessions of their possessions.” She describes manufacturers as “privatizers of the commons of dream” and says that “consumerism for children is a form of cultural pedophilia.”

Nature has generously provided all of us (both young and old) with the resources to stave off boredom. Look within, not in your wallet for a credit card.