erratic

Boy, have we ever run the gauntlet of atmospheric emotion, this week.

The beginning of the week was so bright and cheerful, one could have sworn it were mid-spring. Today though - sheesh - you may as well have plonked me in a snow globe and told me it were home. The scene looked like the Gods had forgotten to take the Kleenex out of their pockets before doing the washing, and were now giving their clothing a damn good shake out.

Today's snow was a complete surprise to me. I headed out the door on the way to pre-school, and concluded that the temperature was rather nippy. Thankfully, I felt inclined to bind each child in great wads of clothing, because I was in need of a long walk.

I wasted a bit of time in a store that was having an incredible clothing sale - jeans, no kidding $7.50!...I found NOTHING. I never have any luck at sales. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. I was surprised to find a Bananas in Pyjamas book for 50 cents though. That is an Aussie kids show, so God only knows why the book was selling in Canada, I haven't seen it here...which might explain why it was selling on the jumble table for 50 cents.......(After looking it up on Bananas in Pyjamas on Wikpedia, I have learnt that "Banana's" are played in the States. So there you go, learning something new everyday).

Once I emerged from the store, the snow was falling thick and fast. Worried about my little girl swathed in jackets and gloves, but wearing only thin trousers, I decided to head home. The council trucks were on patrol assessing the situation - which is a bit premature for them. Normally they don't bother to scan our street until two weeks after the fact, when the entire community has taken to wearing ice skates and a helmet and the kids have declared a coo over the roads, pushing hockey pucks up and down the slippery streets.

Only then, well after the proverbial horse has bolted, do council workers bother to start sprinkling a minuscule smattering of salt over the road. It doesn't have much effect, especially since McDonald puts more salt on their fries, than the council seems capable of parting with, for the sake of drivers on the road. Then, just as the snow has all but melted away, the snow plows move in, normally some tiny ride-on mower looking thing.

You would think our street would qualify for urgent ploughing, since we have a pre-school, sports field and a large car park on our street, which seems to be reserved for local hoons to practice doing iced donuts and truck skating - but never mind.

Apparently it is supposed to be getting warm for the weekend (10 degrees). I hope so. I think I am over the whole snow thing for this year.

more snow

Once again it has snowed in the town that "NEVER sees snow". It has snowed all day- large clumpy snow, then small soft globs, almost like hail. This will have been our third significant snow for the season.

The snow really is beautiful as it falls.

I like the large clumpy flakes best, it is as though the Gods are having a pillow fight and the pillow contents are fluttering down to earth.

I have decided that snow is a living thing.

When it is born it is so fresh and light, and brings much joy to so many, especially the young and young at heart. Many can not help but stare at it in wonderment, oohing and arrhing and wondering about its future...will it still be there in the morning? How long will it stick around? Will it cause much destruction? How high will the snow pile grow?

Once it stops, we are left with the reality of it - a messy mass, that won't clean up after itself, quick enough.

Then later on, as it dies, the once crisp white fluffy snow; so pliable, enchanting, delightful in our hands, turns grey, and kind of decays into a slushy, muddy, repulsive slop. It is not fun anymore and we wish it would soak into the ground so our lives can return to normal.

As I look out at the pretty snow falling in such fascinating and erractic swirls, I kind of think it unfortunte that many, myself included, will be cursing natures little gift - the life of snow.
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the drawing potential of snow

I love snow in Vancouver. We don't get a whole lot in the city. Generally, one needs to venture into the mountains to have a decent experience. There have been some notable exceptions though....

One needn't travel two hours to Whistler to enjoy a spot of skiing, although Whistler is regarded as THE place to go.

Vancouverites can enjoy a spot of winter sport and fun in one of three mountians, all within 30 minutes of the city: Mount Seymour; Grouse Mountain, which requires one to journey to the summit via gondola (excellent, but quite pricey); and Cypress mountain.

What I enjoy about snow in Vancouver, is its apparent ability to recapture ones youth and draw out the inner child, even when no snow was ever present in our pasts. I find that quite an incredible phenomenon.

Yesterday was a nice clear day; the best weather day forecast for the entire long weekend. Consequently, we decided to bundle up the kids and head for Mount Seymour.

On the way we stopped into Canadian Tire to scoop up a couple of the few remaining "toboggans" of the season. Yep, winter has just begun, but we have learnt that winter accessories really need to be purchased in early November. Nevertheless, the toboggan, though basic, worked as well as anything else, so who cares!

No one in our family has ever tobogganed before - remember we are Aussies and come from Adelaide, a place where the locals shudder and shiver if the thermostat hovers in the low teens CELSIUS.

We began our day by experimenting on a piddly patch of snow with an inclination of about 10 degrees. It helped us all gain confidence. It was fun. Much laughter was interwoven with screams of exhileration and glee. And as I looked around at other participants on the mountain yesterday, I noticed a majority of happy, shining, smiling faces and hundreds of families enjoying time together.

This vision of adults and children laughing and playing, made me realise the gift that snow is.

Many family experts and discussion boards speak of the importance of quality family time and play, and snow appears to offer the perfect opportunity to get out there, spend time together and let loose.

I saw a mother and her 13 year old son tandem tobogganing. They were travelling rapidly down the more thrilling slope, we eventually graduated ourselves to. At the bottom, they crashed hard into a snow wall barrier and fell into a heap of tangled arms and legs. After a brief moment, they gathered themselves together, looked into each others eyes with a surprised expression and then collapsed into a roared of laughter. "That was the BEST ride of the day, WOOOO!" said the mother. Her son agreed, and they began their ascent toward the top for another slide down...another joyful experience.

We also had a lot of fun. Our 4-year old, is normally quite a timid fellow, but by the end, he was very willing to slide down by himself, running back to us each time, enthusing,"did you see me, did you see that!" Of course we did.

I took our 2-year old down. Once, my hat fell over my eyes obstructing my vision. I felt us travel up the curved snow wall barrier at the end. I was holding her....we stopped motionless.....then we tipped and rolled. I landed on my side, and lifted my hat up so I could see. Our 2-year old was face down in the snow. When I picked her up, she appeared to be covered in little frozen diamonds. Her face was red from the cold, but her eyes twinkled and she wore an expression of sheer delight, which prompted a big hug from me. "Was that fun? I asked, knowing the answer. Big nods of the head followed before she ran off to repeat the experience.

I know you don't need snow to enjoy time with family, but there is something magical about the snow, and it could be my lack of experience talking, because we are rarely inconvenienced by it, unlike other communities.

Even still, whatever fate shall bring me, and however long my life, I reckon these snowy family experiences will shine out in memory like lanterns on a bleak night.