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A grinch for winter

Weekly column for the 100 Mile Free Press
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They say winters aren’t so bad around here but I can’t help to be skeptical towards that.

October is the happiest time of year, well, it depends on how you look at it because it can also be the saddest. Once Halloween is over, that means winter is coming and I want no part of it. For all I care, it can go on with its dry skin, blue fingertip and lip-quivering self.

Christmas is cheerful, but the rest is just miserable. I don’t like the cold. I don’t like walking outside into frigid temperatures. I don’t like driving when it’s just as cold inside my car as it is outside.

I try to keep an open mind but it’s hard.

I suppose the season has its moments, like when you are just waking up and see the ground covered in an untouched blanket of snow - that is pretty. I like that, but I would much rather enjoy it from the warmth of somewhere indoors.

When I moved to the Cariboo, it was at the end of February. I thought I had experienced what a Cariboo winter was like, but my coworkers beg to differ. That makes me nervous. Now I am not sure what to expect - a part of me wants to make a run for the desert and skip the whole winter thing. However, another part of me wants to experience at least one Cariboo winter.

Living in Ontario all of my life, I have experienced some bad winter weather. I am used to winter and living in a city. It’s just as miserable. As soon as a single snowflake falls from the sky, it’s like people forget how to drive. The snowplows did a lazy job and not to mention, slush - it may look safe to step in, but it sure isn’t.

I might be the real-life representation of the Grinch, however, instead of loathing Christmas, I detest winter.

I suppose there is an upside. I am looking forward to trying all of the winter activities for the first time. I have never been skiing, snowshoeing or ice skating on an actual lake and it seems like that is what people do. I might as well give it a shot - if you can’t beat them, join them.

I don’t see any realistic chances of avoiding winter in British Columbia. As bitter as I might be, I am excited about my first Cariboo winter.

Who knows, perhaps when the first snowfall does come, my small heart might grow three sizes larger, that day.