Somebody find me that rodent, and bring him to me. He has some explaining to do.
What was that? An early spring is what you predicted? Sure, Mr. Billy.
Did you not feel the -30°C temperatures this past weekend? Go tell the brave firefighters who camped out on top of the Boston Pizza in Airdrie over the past weekend that spring had come early.
See how they feel about your prediction then.
I saw via social media a wanted poster for Balzac Billy “Wanted: For Fraud,” with the rodent’s face front and centre, and it about sums that up.
Fraud.
As I’m writing this, I’m wearing my winter jacket, inside, because old Jack Frost won’t let go.
Honestly, what a long, tedious, snow shovelling, Polar Vortex enduring four months so far, and if last weekend is any indication, it’s not stopping anytime soon.
But there might be a reprieve on the horizon, March 9 is Daylight Savings Day, where clocks – and a very grumpy me in the morning – roll clocks forward, losing an hour of sleep but gaining an hour of daylight.
This trade off, while I would normally lobby for extra sleep, is welcome after four months of frigid temperatures, unholy windchills and more snow than most municipalities knew what to do with.
Finally, hope is on the horizon, when I can come home from work and take the dog for a walk while the sun is still out.
This is officially when Spring Fever sets in for me, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Jogging outside, sitting by the lake, camping, fishing, eating ice cream and sun tans are coming, slowly but surely they will come.
I think what makes this winter more tedious than last year (although last year winter was beyond reason) is that we didn’t get away.
We were here the whole winter, last year we snuck off to the Bahamas, and it was fantastic.
We were sun burnt within minutes, and couldn’t care less.
Well, my partner might tell a different story, he gave cooked lobsters a run for their money in the red department, so much so that he started hiding underneath palm trees, beer in hand of course.
I never used to believe that a week away in the winter would make such a difference, but it really does. Being a Vancouver Island girl, the winters – albeit gloomy, wet and grey – weren’t all that bad compared the arctic north or the prairie winters.
It seems to reset the clocks and amp up the patience threshold once again, even if it is for just seven days.
I won’t make that mistake again next year. I’m already looking at getaways for the middle of January, because quite frankly, why not?
Cuba, Costa Rica, Belize, St. Lucia, Bahamas, or Mexico are all up for grabs, and the possibilities are endless.
Also, what doesn’t help are friends back home sending pictures of their crocuses blooming in February, when you are too afraid to take the dog outside because he and I might freeze.
While I’m happy for them, I’m secretly wishing that snow will fall and crush those little purple flowers.
And thankfully that’s exactly what happened, Vancouver Island got one of the biggest snow falls in history last week, shut down schools and highways, and I couldn’t be more happy.
