Snow Days vs. So. Over. Snow. - By Sharon Flood Kasenberg

Snow Day!

Sitting at my window now,
sipping cider warm;
getting tired of snow - and how!
Waiting out the storm.
Every week a freeze and thaw -
ice on snow on ice -
on the bit I tend to gnaw;
Spring would be so nice!

Winter, I would not complain
if you would be kind -
but with all this freezing rain
I'm losing my mind!
Everything's a slip and slide,
everyone complains;
it's not safe to walk or ride -
cabin fever reigns!

- Sharon Flood Kasenberg, Feb 25, 2018 (aka - Snow Day #8!)

This is the winter of my discontent. Seriously.

I've always been a robust, northern-spirited kind of girl - not one to complain about winter, chilly temperatures, or snow - but this year I've thrown my hands in the air. Sharon cedes defeat - Mother Nature wins! Yee haw! (NOT!)

I grew up in Sault Ste. Marie - in what qualifies as "northern Ontario". (My exchange students, from Italy and Brazil, don't think it looks all that far north on the map. When I explain that it's about a nine hour drive from where we live now, that puts things into perspective.) A lot of us probably glamorize our youth. When I think back on winters in my hometown I see mostly blue skies and fluffy white snowflakes. I know the temperatures are colder there than they are here, but I don't remember feeling terribly cold on all those days my mother pushed us out the door to play in the snow. Let me emend that last sentence by adding the words - "except for my feet". My feet, as I recall, were perpetually frozen. I remember skating at the outdoor rink in my schoolyard, hobbling home, and gingerly taking off my boots - often convinced that my toes would fall out when I shook snow out of them. But frigid toes never stopped me, and the following night I'd be back at the rink.

Southern Ontario winters chill me to the bone. It always feels damp here. There's more wind here than I remember experiencing in my childhood...but this can all be explained away by a few unpleasant facts. My bones are getting old, and I've become crankier with age. (And that, friends, is saying something!) Every other winter, of the past sixteen that I've been back in this area, I've been stoic about bundling up daily and taking a walk - or two. This year, a glance outside my window elicits a "meh", and crazy as it sounds I usually opt to walk on my treadmill instead.

You could say it's a protest. Mother Nature and I have been arguing about the correct chronology of all things weather related for quite some time. I firmly believe that snow should fall in December and  stick around until the beginning of March. She prefers a teasing approach to the white stuff - a good dump in November, when nobody's ready for it, and the merest smattering at Christmastime. I mean, why let the kiddies enjoy a toboggan ride or two, or some outdoor skating when they could just hang around the house all day playing computer games? No, argues Mother Nature, it's far better to let the snow fall - with gusto - once they're back in school! That way you can all enjoy...SNOW DAYS!

This winter we've had eight snow days in these parts. All the way through January, one of the students we had living here (from Brazil) wanted a snow day. He finally got one on the day he was supposed to write his final exam. And he got another on the day that he wanted to go into the school and say good-bye to his friends. Now that he's safely back in Brazil we've had six more snow days! (For the record, he feels ripped off.) Another student we're hosting is getting tired of snow days, which always seem to occur when he has assignments almost due and questions for his teacher.

I have mixed feelings about snow days. I am a creature of habit, and having extra bodies around the house through the day cramps my style. I like to get my "stuff" done in a nice, quiet house during daylight hours, and have my evenings free to chill with the menfolk. Snow days snafu my routine, and inevitably I end up having to be more social by day, and then spend more of the evening entertaining myself. It's usually a bothersome situation to endure. On the other hand, sometimes the stars align just right - I have no serious obligations that day - and the extra company is nice.

However, eight snow days is pushing it - even for the genuine snow day enthusiast. If these days resulted from a substantial overnight snowfall that forced us all to wait out the plow, that would be okay - we'd be able to cope. Walkers would climb over snowbanks and walk, drivers would shovel out their cars, wait for the plow to come by, shovel out the mess the plow inevitably left behind, and go about their business. But this year, nothing has been that straight forward.

For the past four weeks, this is our repeating weather pattern: First we get snow, then a nice warm front. Then the snow begins to melt, and the rain comes. Then we get a deep freeze to solidify all of the runoff snow and rain. After that, Mother Nature - while laughing maniacally - throws a nice blizzard our way. What could be more hilarious than a nice, fresh layer of the white stuff on top of the skating rink in your driveway?

Snowplows be darned - as a friend posted on Facebook a few days back, we need ice-choppers! We don't need good treads on our boots, we need cleats! We don't need snow tires, we need chains! Ugh! This tough, northern girl is throwing in the towel. Yes - the pastoral white scene outside looks beautiful through my window, but I can't get out and enjoy the view without feeling like I'm risking life and limb. I've had enough already! Cabin fever has set in, and if my "cabin" was smaller my mind would be entirely gone...(Note for those who know me well: Keep your commentary kind!)

I'm sending out an SOS - or four! Stop our snowfall! Save our sanity! Strengthen our shovels! 

Please, Mother Nature - enough already! Send our Springtime!!