Winter's Gifts

I grew up in a very wet and rainy place, where if it snowed, it got washed away by rain pretty quickly. I had never even entertained the idea of leaving my hometown because I enjoyed the safety, the familiarity, and the comfort of the soft embrace of the place. When we did move, I was shell-shocked, and it took me a long time to readjust my vision. The move eventually led to a series of events that threw me up into the air, and the only way to come down was to grow a pair - of wings.

When we first arrived in Quesnel it was April, and the snow was long gone, the roads were loaded with dirt and gravel, and everything was brown. While flowers had been blooming for two weeks on the Coast, there was absolutely no sign of green anywhere. There were no mountains, the trees were pinners, and it was so incredibly dry. I thought I could never find the beauty, but resolved to myself that it wouldn't matter, that there would be other things that I could enjoy. It took some time ... but Summer did arrive, and I was so surprised by the heat! I could actually walk around without a sweater. In Squamish I was always cold, even in the summer, because of the big wind that was constantly pushing me around.

I remember my delight at the long, dry, crisp Fall. A true Autumn, where the leaves crunch under your feet, rather than being turned to mush. The colours that triumphed the landscape were absolutely gorgeous. All these sights paled in comparison when I saw my first hoarfrost ... Every tree, bush, and blade of grass was covered in thick white frost. It was so cold the exhaust from the cars was making tiny ice crystals. And the sky takes on the prettiest, most delicate pastel colours you've ever seen ~ pink, green, orange, yellow and blue ... it looks like a wedding day.

That's why I will never want to leave.