The Great Snowstorm of 2013

There’s nothing more Canadian than a SNOW DAY!  I woke up early today, excited by the gauze of snow that bandaged my bedroom window and the thought that there would be NO SCHOOL TODAY!  Of course I haven’t ‘gone to school’ either to learn or to teach for ten years but the thrill was still there.

I nestled under my blankets and listened for the school closures on my bedside radio.  I was somewhat disappointed to learn that they no longer read long lists of schools but rather direct eager little eyes to search for their no school today card on line.  The dog and I went out onto the balcony to get a first-hand experience of the depth and feel of the snow; we sniffed the cold air and then wisely turned around and headed back to our respective beds.  I amused myself by planning ways to spend my day:  I’d read a book; I’d clean out the furnace room; I’d make a big bubbling pot of boeuf bourguignon. The silly thing is that since I decide my own working hours I can do any of those things any day I please but they seemed far more inviting today.

But instead I listened to tales of frustrated commuters, flightless airline passengers and frustrated drivers and let my mind wander to the serendipity of previous winter weather disasters. 

• The impromptu pot-luck dinner organized by a fellow graduate student who had phoned a few friends who lived in the neighbourhood but didn’t really know each other.  We all arrived, awkward, our meagre offerings dangling in plastic bags from snow-covered mittens, to be met by the aroma of a roasting goose he had just happened to have on hand!  It was one of the most memorable meals of my life!   

• Seven months pregnant, trudging 2 kilometres through the quickly mounting snow to catch the last London to Toronto train.  After many delays we arrived at Union Station well after midnight.  The next morning I arrived bright and early at the hospital only to discover that my ultra-sound had been postponed since the required the staff couldn’t make it to work ‘because of the weather.’

• The morning I stepped out of my shower to a chorus of “Hi Mum!  We’re home!  Our dorm is closed for the week.”  The great ice storm of 1998 had indeed closed Queens and Alyssa had persuaded all of her out-of-province floor-mates that her mother would be delighted for them to move in.

It’s now past noon; the snow continues to sift down, the dog dozes, I smile quietly, all of the items on my to-day list still untouched and wonder if one day I’ll look back on the Great Snowstorm of 2013 as the occasion on which I finally resurrected my blog.