Even
we hardy, snow-loving Canadians are sick of winter already. This has been the
coldest and the snowiest winter in recent memory. I would have to go back and
look at the official records to tell you exactly when we had it this bad, but I
do know it is somewhere in the vicinity of 20 years ago. I keep recalling that
winter a few years back when it was in the 50s in January and I saw one brave
soul who went grocery shopping, wearing shorts.
I feel
particularly bad for all my southern friends who have been hit pretty hard with
the cold temperatures—and some of them even having to endure snow! Please don’t
blame Canada. Apparently it’s the arctic that is sending all these deep
freezing, polar vortex type temps your way.
This
coming Sunday is Groundhog Day. I live in hope that the little varmint will not
see his shadow and that we will get an early spring. I, myself, am blessed
because I have the freedom to pretty much stay indoors. I can turn up the heat,
layer on clothes, cover up with a blanket. In other words, the cold is
inconvenient, but not devastating.
There
was a time when it was exactly that, and I remember all the things we did to
help our old drafty house stay warm. We tacked six mil plastic to the inside of
nearly every window. We stuffed towels at the bottom of the front and back
doors. We kept alert to the possibility of power outages. Since in those days we
had a well for water with an electric pump that meant filling the bathtub with
water for flushing the toilet and two large pots of water on the stove for other
needs. On the occasions when the outages came without warning, we were able to
melt snow in pots on our wood stove for the basic necessities.
I can
remember filling mason jars with boiling water and then wrapping them in a towel
and setting them in the children’s beds an hour before bedtime. I’d replace them
before I went to bed, and again first thing in the morning, an hour or so before
they got up. We loved rural living, but it was not without its
challenges.
These
days, although we have had two instances of furnace malfunction in the last
couple of months, it was no real hardship. Like I said, extra layers, a couple
of electric heaters and the oven on for a few minutes here and there, and we
were fine. Too, once you’ve been through really tough times, for extended
periods, you discover that nothing can really shake you that badly again. As I
always say, sometimes bad things come our way, but they don’t come to stay, they
come to pass.
Time
moves too quickly as it is, so I know that before long, this winter will pass,
and spring and then summer will be here. We joke now that the first person we
hear complaining about how hot it is this summer is going to get a smack – but
face it, we’re humans—fickle, and imperfect.
The
first heat wave that hits us, we’re all going to complain about the heat. I
think it’s inevitable.
There
isn’t anything we can do, really, about the weather except to try and simply
cope with it. We can work on keeping the best attitude possible. For those who
have to work out of doors, I salute you and I know what you’re going through. My
beloved drives a truck now at the quarry where he’s been employed for more than
35 years. But that is a recent development.
Not
that many years ago he would be outside all day, and when the quarry was a
family owned operation, and before “safety first” became a way of life, he even
used to climb up 100 foot conveyor belts when they would jam with ice and
snow—no matter the winds or the blowing snow at the time.
That
was in the years when we lived next door to the place, and he would come home
each day for a hot lunch—and clean, warmed socks waiting for him
by the stove.
It’s
amazing looking back at what we endured, together and separately, when we were
younger. Older has its own adjustments, but it has its rewards,
too.
Stay
warm, keep smiling, and we’ll get through this nasty winter.
Love,
Morgan
http://www.morganashbury.com
http://www.bookstrand.com/morgan-ashbury
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