Stir Crazy

I apologize in advance for the whining I am about to inflict on you. I realize that many people in many parts of the world experience actual problems, like hunger and disease and war, whereas I do not. I’ve tried really hard not to let the weather get the best of me, but I can contain myself not longer.

I was born and raised here in Southwestern British Columbia. We might be Canadians, but we’re not the hardy kind. For example, we skate indoors and purchase cars without block heaters. We are not able to withstand months of freezing temperatures. What we can tolerate is rain. Vancouver is a lot like Seattle, only with socialized medicine and fewer retail options. Sure, it snows here, but then it melts within a day or two. That’s the rule. Anything more and we’re at a loss.

This winter has been a nightmare so far. We’ve had snow, and lots of it. And it’s not going anywhere. Oh, they keep promising that rain will come and melt it all, and then I get my hopes up. But what happens? More snow. Wet snow. Dry snow. Snowy snow. When I wake up in the morning and see more on the ground it’s all I can do not to burst into tears.

My Christmas Eve dinner, for which I procured an expensive 15 lb turkey, locally grown, no hormones, no antibiotics, all the great stuff? For which I pureed butternut squash and made pie crust from scratch? Canceled. Because of snow. Hannah’s first day back at school after Christmas, which was supposed to be yesterday? The day she woke up giddy at the prospect of no longer being trapped indoors with her irritable mother and baby brother? Canceled. Because of snow.

We got our first snowfall on December 12. And it just kept falling. Our neighbourhood is barely navigable because of massive piles of snow on each side of the street. The remaining driving surface is only wide enough for one car, so you find yourself pulling into several driveways to avoid collisions in the two blocks between the main road and are our house. Street parking is nonexistent. And I fear Jon’s shoulder will never be the same after all the shoveling.

We can’t go outside, because what can you do with a 4-month-old in the cold and wet and snow? Driving anywhere is horrible, because we’re all nervous west coasters with no snow tires, living in communities with shoddy snow removal. And then when you do venture out it’s a total parking nightmare because 1/3 or more of the spaces are covered with massive piles of snow. Plus it’s been Christmas and Boxing Day and New Year’s, which as you know are traditionally crazy times in parking lots under the best of conditions.

It’s long past the point of being fun, or funny. We are going stir crazy here. I am facing down another full day at home with the two little ones, and it’s just not pretty. All of our go-to ideas for ‘indoor fun’ have lost their sheen. It’s a total nightmare. All that I can say is, school had better be open tomorrow.

If you’d like to see some photos of us bouncing off the walls because we can’t leave the house, you can check out the latest snapshots in the gallery here and here.