For reasons that are both tangible and psychosomatic, there is truly nothing like the middle of February to make you feel as though you won’t make it through winter.

But instead of letting the early sunsets slowly drain my serotonin, I am starting to resist the gloom and finding joy in wintering, focusing on the things that are truly best this time of year: not leaving the house once on a Saturday, wearing your best après-ski look even if there is no skiing and eating a ridiculous amount of pasta — to be specific, the indulgently meaty, rich and saucy kind of pasta, topped with so much cheese.