A Quarter Century Later

   Toronto is being blanketed by snow today. The weather station is calling for us to get 15 cm or more of the white stuff. My youngest daughter is in heaven! Being a true daughter of the north, she rejoices in the winter. I always have, too. There is no more beautiful season, as far as I am concerned. We are not in a "snow belt" here in Toronto, so when the winter blesses us with a blanket of white, we go out to welcome it in person. B.C. (that's "before children") I used to go cross-country skiing all the time. I have not been on my skis in almost a quarter century, but today, I nestled my boot toes into those bindings, and set out. (I started out 32 years ago on Karhu waxable skis. I used to give them a tar coating on a regular basis, and wax them before (and sometimes during) every outing. Does anyone do that any more?)
    My daughter was with me, on the skis that we gave her for her birthday this year. We skied along the snow-mounded sidewalk for one block and then into a park that is near our home. While we made our way along, we saw not even one other person out celebrating winter's gift of snow. There were one or two pedestrians, hurrying to get in out of the storm, and no-one else. Doesn't everyone know? The best way to get through a northern winter is to get out into it! It was a joy to be back on my skis again, and I thank my daughter for reconnecting me to a pleasure that I had come too close to losing.