Clearly I am accustomed to snowy and cold weather. But I’m entirely unprepared to deal with actually needing to get anywhere ( or my kids) in this weather, by foot. SUVs and all-wheel drive have been the default for needing to be anywhere up until now.

We woke to what looked like smoke filling the street. It was blowing snow. Not smoke.
And of course when I had calls starting the minute I arrived at work, so shifting schedules wasn’t really an option.

I hurriedly bundled the boy into a snowsuit, although the intention had been to toss us both into a taxi for the $5 ride to his preschool.
No taxis. And the one that did approach was scooped by a more assertive ( desperate) parent with 3 screaming kids in tow- he wins.
So- already nearing being late, I picked up all 40 pounds of the boy, and started walking.
We live in a pretty windy corner of the city, so that added an extra lovely dimension. ( by this point I’m already resigning myself to that fact that the Mexican food ( and drinks) I was going to insist we hold off on and instead cook in tonight, will happen . I’m spent. And it’s 8:15.)

We arrive at preschool eventually, and I swiftly carry on the way, getting sprayed by both a snow blower guy (zero attempt to even slightly shift the trajectory of his spray) and a salt sprinkler guy.

And then I see an equally resigned dad, crouched over his wailing kid, face-down in the snow, trying to muster his parental patience asking his son ‘ what hurts? What HURTS? WHAT HURTS?’
He eventually lifts the stay-puffed-marshmallow-man- scarecrow kid up, dusts him off, and they carry on their snowy, manual way, two glistening beads of snot decorating the sad little kid’s face.

I’m spent- and it’s not even 9 am!!

And my freshly-styled hair really should just have a toque on for the remainder of the day.

Happy Friday!
Here’s two random street shots along the way.