It’s beginning to feel as though this winter is here to stay forever? The cold just keeps on coming, wave after wave of arctic blasts that make the simplest outdoor tasks monumentally challenging: snow that follows the waves of cold and keeps folks almost perpetually with shovel in hand or lining up behind their snow blowers. As bad as this winter has been so far, and though there’s no guarantee that the Midwest and Northern Illinois won’t see more and even worse, take heart – winter will pass.

One way to look at it is that this is the last day of January. Unless we’ve fallen into the midst of a new ice age, and the evidence isn’t available to support that contention yet, spring is only a stone’s throw away. Officially, it’s less than two months away. By that time, an unofficial spring could easily overtake the bitter winter blues of 2013-14.

One way to make winter easier to stomach is to find enjoyable activities to do indoors. Maybe you’ll enjoy the Super Bowl this weekend? There are the friends, good food or, well, tasty food; there are the commercials and the half-time show. For those who have endured another football season more than imbibed in another football season, there’s the knowledge that this is the last game of the season; your spouse won’t have the “but-the-game-is-on” excuse to get out of family activities until next fall.

On the other hand, maybe you enjoy outdoor activities: snowmobiling, skating, skiing, etc. If that’s your chilly cup of tea, by all means, make sure you dress warm. The keyword here is ‘layers:’ layers upon layers. If you dress warm enough you might just enjoy the outdoors on a minus-15-degree day. Then again, maybe it’s better just to stay indoors and drink your tea piping hot.

Whatever you do to mentally prepare yourself for winter, a plan to ensure your vehicle is equally prepared is essential. Few things will make the winter even less tolerable than to find that your car won’t start, doesn’t run right, won’t stop, can’t handle icy conditions, has broken an essential part of the steering or suspension driving through winter-induced potholes.

In Florida, you can say to yourself, “the car battery is getting a little weak. I should think about replacing it someday.” In Northern Illinois and McHenry County, those words are laughable and this is the kind of winter to bring tears to your eyes, if your car isn’t up to the task.

If you haven’t done so already, have your charging system checked, make sure your car is properly tuned, change the oil on schedule (see your owner’s manual) and replace those balding tires. These are things you can clearly do knowing they’ll keep your car from adding to the winter blues.

Keeping a blanket in the car, some water and a charged cell phone will help you deal with an emergency should your car breakdown.

Even if your car doesn’t breakdown, there are things you can do to make operating the car a little less frustrating. Keep some lock deicer handy. Make sure you have a good window scraper and brush for clearing the snow and ice off your car. Try to allow yourself enough time to warm up the car before you drive. In fact, you should allow yourself more time to drive since winter conditions – snowy and icy roads – tend to stretch the duration of trips folks take this time of year.