Weather Whines

I think like most Canadians I feel a certain pride by my ability to deal with the weather extremes we get here. In Eastern Ontario, we are lucky we REALLY get the extremes. Temperatures range yearly from –40 F (not counting windchill) to 107 F (not counting humidity and humidity is constant whether it’s hot or cold). We get snowstorms and ice storms and tornados (VERY rarely) and some impressive thunderstorms (no hurricanes thank god). So, it is not extremely hot all the time, nor is it extremely cold and I’ve never sat anxiously watching a hurricane approach but we get ALL the “normal” stuff.

I must admit that I whine as loudly as the next guy when it’s really hot BUT I feel so empowered the first time I take to the road and there is a foot of snow on the ground and it doesn’t phase me in the slightest. I smile quietly to myself as I deal with three-foot snowdrifts in the driveway and dispatch them quickly with the snow blower. Nothing makes you feel powerful like pushing around a 10 HP snow blower lol and nothing makes you feel as talented then hitting a patch of ice in the car and maintaining control of the automobile (the corollary being that nothing is more scary then losing control completely). We don’t have snow tires on our truck and it’s not four-wheel drive (we keep putting off buying snow tires cause winter hasn’t been all that bad the past two years).

I like waking up in the morning to a frigid house and feeling all warm and snuggly under the covers. I like winter camping although I haven’t done it in years. I like the cold rosy cheeks you getter spending time in the cold skating, sledding or just goofing off in the snow. I feel invulnerable when I fight my way into work; having waited in the cold for a bus bundled up like “Nanook of the North” and trudged down an icy sidewalk wondering if the feeling would ever return to my hands.

What gets me every time though is strapping an uncooperative kid into a car seat when it’s 7 F (okay I know that’s not all that cold but that just happens to be the temp today). You can’t do this with gloves on. They HAVE to come off. The kid is wearing 80 gazzillion layers so they aren’t exactly easy to get into the seat in the first place. So now you have a squishy, squirming, kid; snug car seat straps; and frozen hands. Did I mention said kid has kicked his boot and sock off so that his foot is potentially freezing as well and that your other child has taken off and is sure to be hit be a car at any moment because they aren’t being cooperative AT ALL. Ah…. Winter was easier in “bucket” days. I wish they made toddler sized buckets with special weight defying characteristics. Nope not feeling powerful, skilled or invulnerable at all today; just trying to find excuses to NEVER leave the house again or at least until May.

Okay my spirts are about to be reinvigorated. Just checked the weather forecast. Here is an excerpt:

A Major winter storm with the centre over western end of Lake Superior this morning is expected to bring heavy snowfall to regions just north of the lower Great Lakes and southeastern Ontario. The heavy snowfall has started over Windsor and Sarnia regions will reach Toronto and the Golden Horseshoe area by this evening then spread farther eastward to southeastern Ontario overnight. The heaviest snowfall is expected to occur along the Ontario Québec border Friday morning.

I can see Quebec from here.