When you don’t have to go to work and have no deeds to do and no promises to keep, you look at snow from a totally different perspective.
Standing inside my warm house with a hot chocolate in hand, I watched my neighbourhood transform into a magic Christmas card scene.
In 45 minutes, my lawn and landscaping look just as good as the neighbour’s.
I recall the first day of snow when I was working in the tire shop as the first white flakes created chaos in the parking lot as people scrambled to buy new snow tires or have their old ones installed.
Often, when we had to point out to them that their 10-year-old snow tires had less tread on them than their summer tires did, we were accused of taking advantage of the situation.
The flakes weren’t just falling from the sky.
When the first all-season tires were introduced it was assumed that now there was no need for snow tires, but we had one overzealous salesmen who didn’t quite grasp the concept and he sold the customer six all-season tires, two mounted on extra rims for the winter.
No one in the tire shop looked forward to being soaking wet by coffee time and dog tired after a non-stop 10 hour day.
Snow was not magical unless you were the owner working the till and humming, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas.”
When you don’t have to drive in a snow storm it’s nice to just bundle up and go for walk. Last week we went out the day after the storm and took pictures of snow covered tree branches and red berries frozen in ice drops on the bushes.
We came around one corner in the park and found four boys skating on a frozen pond in the old pit.
Kids playing hockey outdoors in Langley is truly a rare sight.
I can only recall two occasions in my life when Fry’s Corner, now 176th and Fraser Highway, froze over and we went skating trying to avoid the tufts of grass sticking through the ice surface.
But this day, with nothing but time on our hands, we can watch them glide and listen to skates bite into the ice, the only noise carried across this muffled, soft blanket of white.
But in my fire department days, snow and cold weather meant an increase in calls for service.
Fender benders or major accidents kept us busy all day and night. People having heart attacks from shovelling or broken limbs from slips resulted in many ambulance assists.
They were all that much more difficult to perform when we were slipping ourselves or drivers that refused to slow down skidded past us or into the original accident.
Fires resulted from space heaters, fireplaces, candles or Christmas trees and then when the temperature warmed up, all the frozen, broken pipes let go and we got called to shut off water lines and clean up flooded residences. No wonder I never wanted to rush home and take my kids sledding.
So as I put on another pot of coffee and sit down at my laptop in my cozy office, I will think kind thoughts of those who are getting up early to slide to work or school.
Slow down, take your time and look out for each other.
May the plow be with you. At least that’s what McGregor says.
