I find it difficult to sit attentively and write this morning, as my mind is already out the door on vacation. Tomorrow morning (which by the time people read this will actually be four mornings ago) we're loading up the car and leaving for Revelstoke, B.C.
Revelstoke is my Canadian happy place. The amount of snow that falls up this mountainous town is almost mind-boggling. Three-years-ago when I first laid eyes on this beautiful community, I never wanted to leave.
Mother Nature blesses this town with so much snow - and milder temperatures than the Prairies - that the sidewalks into people's yards become snow-lined walkways. And, I'm not just talked a couple feet of snow either. I'm talking snow above my head. Impressive, to say the least.
Of course, people who call Revelstoke home may have a different view of Mother Nature's blessing of snow, especially whenever it forces the closure the only highway in and out. But as an outsider who only goes to ride the mountain, lots of snow is exactly what the doctor ordered.
In my personal experience, no matter how stressful my life becomes, a few days on the mountains fixes everything. I'm not sure if it's the mountain air or just being in the great outdoors, but nothing leaves me feeling as refreshed as a trip to the mountains.
This is likely why we don't take hot holidays like most people do during the winter. Mind you, a hot holiday to escape the harsh winter seems like the intelligent thing to do, especially if it's planned just right so you come back to spring.
To tell the truth, we have never taken a hot holiday together. In fact, I've only taken one - when I was 16. My dad is awesome and took me on a last-minute trip to Dominican Republic for two weeks. Technically, I did spend two months in Brazil as well - which is typically hot. But I went during their winter, and while the weather stayed around 15 degrees above zero - much warmer than our winters - it was never quite warm enough to jump in the ocean.
We may not be going anywhere hot this time, but I think we at least timed it right. The weatherman is calling for above zero temperatures the whole time we are gone, so I'm left to think we may come home to much, much less snow. What a perfect way to end the winter.
And, it's about time that winter ends. Everyone and their dog seem to be feeling the pressure. People are becoming rude and grouchy, and my dog sits on the couch (yes she's back on the couch), longingly looking outside. By the time we come home, all should be well.
I have never dealt well with long, cold winters. (Why am I in Saskatchewan, then? I ask myself the same thing all winter long.) But like most Prairie dwellers, I have learned to cope with the colder weather, mostly by cursing the weatherman and saying to myself, "This year I really will pack my bags and move to a warmer climate."
This year has been so difficult on me - everyone, really - that if it wasn't for this upcoming trip, I might have done just that.
That small taste of spring we received in early February did nothing but make the coming of the actual spring seem to take even longer. And everyone agrees - enough is enough, already. This cold, dreary winter is depressing.
Mother Nature is really toying with our emotions this year. Every time she gives us a little peak at warmer temperatures, she takes it away and replaces it with colder temperatures than before the taste of spring. I don't like her mind games. Not. One. Bit.
So, I'm escaping the grip she has on the Prairies and heading to a snowier, but warmer, climate in the mountains. I just pray that when I come back, she'll have stopped toying with my insanity and brought on spring.
