meandering minds…

If we have missed winter this past few months.

Driving to the store…

Or to work..

Or the long ride to the haircutter’s…

Or the chiropractor’s…

And…

Well…

To be honest…

Yeah, I have! Though WE haven’t.
(the Royal We)

I tend to idealize winter. I love to see snow, and Rudi has installed outdoor lighting in all of our houses so I can watch it fall from the sky at night.

And in my fantasy/idealized worlds no one has to drive in snow. They can all stay home, make hot chocolate, put another log in the woodstove and stir the big pot of soup on the top, and run outside to make snow angels and snowmen and to get rosy cheeks and rosy noses. There are snow days for the teachers and the kids, and for everyone who has to commute to a job. Families can be home together… in the snow.

There’s a lot of great truth in my ideal winter. I’ve been blessed enough to live it.

But the harsher realities of winter, having to wear coats and hats and mitts and boots and scarves and to take an hour getting dressed and undressed just to run to the store for juice, and back home again; shovelling, shovelling, shovelling; slip-sliding in the car, and wondering who is slip-sliding nearby; not knowing if you should drive the (what turns into) two hours to see a play downtown, because it could well be cancelled by the time you arrive; booking a trip to paradise, and sitting at the airport on the plane in line for de-icing, and wondering if you will make your connection; sitting in an airport in Florida for 21 hours because the entire eastern seaboard has been shut down because of the snow — well, it does have its downside.

It’s been pretty emancipating this winter to wear only flip flops or boat shoes, and to have as the main weather worry if you should wear your fuzzy jacket AND a windbreaker, or just the windbreaker.

~ by photokunstler on 12 March 2010.

Posted in Abaco, Bahamas, Elbow Cay, Ottawa and the area, Uncategorized
Tags: snow, beach, winter