Today was the first day in many weeks where I felt like winter was coming to an end. Birds were singing, the sun was high in the sky and most importantly, it was not -20 C. The walk to school with the boys was actually pleasant. I even walked the long way back to enjoy the fresh air. People were smiling even. Crazy.
February was a grind like I have not experienced before. It was freezing every day. Walking on five layers of snow and ice has my body saying uncle. My gloves are done. Our car and stroller looks so gross, I just want to drive both into the lake.
But hope is coming. The clocks change this weekend and that for me is always the first sign of better days ahead. The second, is March Madness. College hoops has always been a transition time from cold to warmer for me. It is a right of spring. I can’t wait.
This was also the first winter where we have had kids and not lived somewhere that involved the car for every little trip. By living in Toronto, we can pretty much walk everywhere and I am proud to say, for most of the winter we did. Every day the kids would painfully get into their snowsuits and humour me by trekking to and from school in the cold. Some days were harder than others. For those who have pushed a stroller through deep snow, you know what I am talking about. It’s a great workout, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not fun.
The last few weeks, I finally gave in to the cold. Each morning started with a check of the weather. Each time there was an extreme cold warning with wind chills at -30 C or worse. Screw that. We drove.
It felt silly driving the kids when the distance is so short, but it was worth it. Everyone was happy. The only hurdle was finding a parking spot among all the snow banks.
I can’t wait until these skinny back roads of High Park can get a proper cleaning of snow and ice.
The birds chirping in the morning are a nice touch. It reminds us of the good times ahead living in such a beautiful part of the city. We keep going out to check the back yard and the alley and everything is waiting for us.
My Big Green Egg is just sitting there frozen shut. It has not been used since New Year’s Day and again, I can’t wait to unleash the smells of smoked meat again.
If you want to get an idea of just how tough this winter has been, you just need to look at Harry’s snowpants. The bottoms are torn and messy. They are covered in dirty salt marks. The suspenders are all out of sorts. They have seen quite the workout.
I can’t wait to not have to put those snowpants on the kids again.
The talk of bikes and soccer and bbq have us all feeling a little more warm on the inside. Now we just need the weather to match on the outside.
