I woke up this week to find that Christmas had come. Well, at least the snow that usually signifies Christmas, but it’s only October, so what the heck Mother Nature.
I’m not sure there is ever weather I truly like in Canada. I spend the majority of the summer months complaining about the heat, how it’s too hot to go out and enjoy anything, and how I can’t wait for the weather to cool down so that I can enjoy nature again.
Then inevitably fall comes around. Or at least the Canadian version of fall, the version that only lasts roughly a week before winter is breathing down all of our necks.
Then we get the pleasure of spending eight months in a frozen wasteland, all half frozen, being relentlessly pounded by snowfall day after day.
We get a brief ray of hope during spring, when the temperature is actually mild enough to enjoy time outside without the feeling of melting. But that, too, dissipates quickly and before you know it the temperature is back in the high 20s and I’m once again a sweaty, angry mess.
Don’t get me wrong … there are things I enjoy about the various seasons throughout the year.
When I was younger, and had suffered a lot less injuries, I used to love snowboarding as much as possible. I still love it to this day, but it’s difficult to justify spending $80 on a lift ticket, plus the extra money on gas to and from the ski hill, plus food and other amenities, so it’s been a few years since I’ve hit the slopes.
It seems as if when you’re younger, the snow is this fantastic opportunity to be outside and play. But now, all I can think about is how darn cold it is, and how much I don’t want to be that darn cold.
I also don’t completely resent our summers. Sure, for the most part it’s just three months of me complaining that it’s too hot to do anything and that I feel like I may sweat to death, but there are days that I enjoy.
Anything above 25 C is just a write off of a day. I am a very pale, Irish-blooded individual, and weather like that makes me feel as if I’m going to melt. But days during the summer that hover from the high teens, to the low 20s … those are glorious.
When I lived in Calgary days like those were always spent outdoors. The city was fantastic for always having something going on, or somewhere nice to spend the day.
Grace and I would often leave the house early in the mornings and make a daytrip to the mountains, and those were always the days I preferred the most. We often liked to return to Johnston Canyon, the place where we originally met a little over three years ago.
During the summer the canyon is beautiful. The hiking paths are well cared for, and the views are fantastic, featuring several waterfalls to enjoy. During the winter however, the path is not quite as fun.
It was the middle of winter, and as I said prior, I’m not the biggest fan of going out and doing things while it’s freezing cold. I woke up on my day off to a phone call from a friend of mine. Himself, his girlfriend, his girlfriend’s best friend, and her younger sister (I know it sounds like an episode of 90210) were all going out on a hike, and were wondering if I wanted to come along.
They told me that there were no empty seats in the car they were taking, so if I wanted to tag along I would have to drive alone. I, of course, did not want to do that, so I called a friend of mine to see if he would be willing to drive out with me; he just happened to say yes, so we made the trip out to Johnston Canyon.
Now, where this story loops back in to why Canadian winters are no fun, is when Grace started trying to make it up the hiking trail.
The temperatures had been going from above to below freezing several times a day for the days prior, which had resulted in a fair share of ice build-up on the already steep trail. Grace, being the mountaineer that she is, had decided to wear her flat Vans skate shoes, and proceeded to fall on the ice what seemed to be once every five minutes. I was her so-called knight in shining armour, and picked her up when she fell, and continued to hold her arm as we walked. I think that is my favourite memory of winter.
It’s not just Canada’s weather I don’t approve of however, the winters suck, and fall and spring are almost non-existent, but at least we get decent summers.
When I lived in Texas, that story was completely different. There’s nothing worse than going from a country with eight months of winter, to a state that has nine months of summer.
I spent my first few months in Texas working in construction, outdoors, in the middle of summer. Boy, oh boy, was that a mistake. I went from pale white, to cherry tomato red in the span of one day, and then stayed that way for eight months … not a fan.
I guess the point I’m making is I hate all weather. Too hot, too cold, too windy, too dry and too humid. But looking back some of my best memories have been made on the days when the weather makes you want to find someone you love and spend the day next to them.
