When I woke up late this morning and
saw the snow falling from the sky, settling on my surroundings, I
felt joy. Settled snow sparkling on the trees and mountains
surrounded in falling flakes gives a calmness to an area that just
isn't felt any other time of year. Everything seems to slow down to
the speed of those large beautiful flakes. Being surrounded in snow
capped mountains is something of an addiction of mine, when I'm not
near them I tend to feel a bit lost. However when that snow cap
reaches all the way to the valley floor at the base of the mountain,
it gives the entire area this magical feeling, like a fairy tale come
to life. Looking out the window of my log cabin home at the pine tree
covered mountain beside me, memories of past winters and a feeling of
serenity engulfs me completely, so much so that I have to stop and
stare until I am so full I need to sit down.
So many memories flood back to me on
days like this. Days when my dad would take me out of school to go
skiing are one of my favourite memories. It was always a friday. He
would wake me up for school, and when I told him I didn't want to go
for whatever reason, he would answer “Well I guess you don't feel
like going skiing then?” If you ever want to see an eight year old
jump out of bed, eat a bowl of cereal and put her coat on in two
minutes, that is how its done. We would always meet up with my best
friend Lisa and her dad, who would have a similar morning to ours. As
kids Lisa and I barely missed a winter friday together. When we grew
up and Lisa moved to Vancouver, I went to visit her for New Years,
and our first ski day in the mountains was a mix of new terrain and
old traditions, with some old memories thrown in for good measure.
When the travel bug hit my friend
Holly, we had a fundraiser party for her one February. We spent the
entire day building quinces (like igloos) for people to sleep in
after the party. We laughed and talked all day long while digging out
the snow and smoothing the walls, then had a blast at the party that
night.
Brendan and I started dating just as
winter was setting in. One of our favourite evening activities was
snowshoeing. Having a beautiful forest for night hikes within walking
distance of his house was an absolutely magical way to pass the
long, cold nights. This tradition carried on when we moved to Alberta
and found ourselves in the mountains with two highly-active,
easily-tired little dogs.
Living in Alberta, we lived with one
main purpose, to save for our around the world trip, which meant no
seasons pass at the local ski resort. None the less we found ways to
ski, mainly by snowshoeing up with our skis on our backs. It was a
whole other world to me, and one that made the views and the turns,
that much more enjoyable. Cross country skiing was another way to get
out and enjoy beautiful winter days, including Christmas day. It was
just the two of us and the dogs on the trail with blue skies, the
perfect day.
There are so many others to list; catching snowflakes on my tongue, tobogganing at the local hill and almost sliding into the river,
building snowmen and snowforts, having snowball fights, skating on
windblown frozen lakes, skiing behind the snowmobile on the lake
behind my house, and winter bon fires at friends houses, and snow
days when the schools were closed due to poor road conditions. It
always felt like mother nature was on our side, beautiful fresh snow
to play in, and no school for a whole day. As an adult, snow days
don't seem as much like a gift, but more of a nightmare; poor road
conditions and work doesn't ever seem to be cancelled. In memory of
my love of childhood snow days, as well as my enjoyment of sitting by
the fire staring at the mesmorizing view, I think I will make my own
snow day. I really don't want to stop the enjoyment of this beautiful
day by attempting the icy roads. Maybe I'll just take the dog for a
walk then sip tea by the fire while staring at snow covered
mountains, that is much more appealing.
