Today gave us more snow.

Again.

I posted a photo of an icy downtown sidewalk on Facebook a few days ago and a Vancouver friend wondered why no one cleared the sidewalks here in St. John’s. Just two weeks ago I was complaining about that very thing. I felt entitled to a safer, clearer sidewalk. For the kids!

But now I’m starting to get it. I replied to my friend that it’s simply freaking hard to keep on top of all the weather.

All in one day you can have piercing sun, freezing rain, fluffy snow, and a beautiful starry evening. That was kind of what it was like today.

It started out sunny. The sunlight filled our house and teased us outside with the promise of warmth. By noon though, things had turned grey. I hadn’t even noticed. I found out about the impending storm at 2pm when my sister-in-law came over with my little nephew.

I peered out the front window and said, “I mean, it’s grey, but it certainly doesn’t look like we’ll get ten centimetres of snow today.”

Somewhere between snack time and playing dragons up and down the stairs, snow began to fall. By 5PM the wind picked up and started whipping the snow sideways. As we were outside saying our goodbyes, my family ended up looking like this:

Everything is so dramatic here.

And tonight we’re back to starry skies and dare I say it’s a little warmer? 

I went for a walk around the block and didn’t want to come in. I walked very slowly around the Anglican Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist and savoured trudging through the wet, heavy snow.

I walked and walked and walked.

I could have walked all the way to the edge of the world in that snow.

And I won’t be shovelling tonight.