A Christmas Wish List

It's just a regular workday.

This is not November weather. This sucks. It's rainy. It's mild. The world around me seems mouldy. Yuck. My son races to the window every morning looking to see if he can wear snowpants yet. No such luck.

End of November. Today's high is set to be 10C. Tomorrow, it's going to shoot for 16C.

I want cold air to freeze my nose hairs together. I want my eyelashes to feel moist as they freeze and thaw with every breath I take. I want wind burn on my cheeks and a slight numbness in my finger tips.

I want to shovel snow. Really. I do.

I want to watch as my kids make snow angels. I want to once again decide whether or not this will be the year I learn to skate.

I want to have an excuse to wear my swanky new down filled coat.

I want winter. In all it's glory. I'm a Northern Ontario girl. I'm not from the west coast. I want snow.

I want to feel all snuggly warm when I get into bed and have the tip of my nose cold to touch. I want hot cocoa and homemade slippers.

I want to sit on the couch and watch the flakes dancing in the wind outside of my living room window.

I want to see the cats snoring away as they lie atop the floor rads.

I want to wear colourful scarves and mits and hats. I want to spin around outside and catch snowflakes on my tongue.

I want my kids to know winter as I have known it. And to love it just as much.

Child's Play

Imagine if you will my two kids at play. The boy is holding a batman figurine. The girl is holding a female figurine that has a transparent body. I'm sure she is a character. I just don't know what her name is. The dialogue is as follows:

Batman: You can hit me as hard as you can but when I turn grey, I can't feel anything.

Transparent Girl: But when I hug you, you can feel my love.

Batman: I turn grey and fight the bad guys. Hieeeee ya!

Transparent Girl: My body can turn invisible and you can go right through me. Be right inside me.

Batman: I'm going to go with spiderman and get some bad guys.

Transparent Girl joined by Red Headed Troll Girl: Go Batman! Go Spiderman!

Spiderman: My webs aren't very sticky.

Red Headed Troll Girl: You can make them stickier. I know you can.

Spiderman: Yes I can!!

My son: Why are you laughing mommy?

Why indeed?

The Sky is Falling

I've been having the strangest craving for brie, cranberry and pine nut sandwiches lately.

Funny.

I've also been overcome with ... it's hard to explain really ... well, on the other hand, it's simplistically easy ... I've been overcome with beauty. In the sense put forward by Keats...truth being beauty and vice versa. I was driving along when I noticed the sky and how beautiful it was. Grey clouds perfectly spaced. A bird flying into just the right spot. Then I noticed the busyness of the traffic around me and how it too was beautiful and how it contrasted with the seeming stillness of the sky. Then the sky moved ... clouds raced, wind blew the trees and the busyness around me seemed to trade places with the heavens above and I was left with a stillness inside. Peace.

Then the radio began to play a U2 track and I began to think about Bono and how celebrities are gaining influence in our world. I wondered. If I knew that someone was listening, what would I say?

Reality check. We have a new mayor. A 'good ol' boy.' It was one of those elections that left me with a visceral reaction...nausea. It's hard not to feel that I'm on the wrong side of the fence. I think it might hurt more because I made a conscious decision to be less passive. That it didn't make a difference this time won't make me change back. I don't like certain trends I'm witnessing. I heard today that people with landed immigrant status who in years past were allowed to vote in municipal elections were pulled on mass off of this year's voters lists with no warning. People showed up to vote and were turned away.

The school board is looking, once again, at instituting full day alternate day kindergarten in order to save money from school buses...never mind the wee kids having to be in school all day. Never mind the parents who will have to look for alternate day child care. Never mind that the smaller child care centres will be forced to close leaving the parents with even fewer choices. Never mind.

I'm looking forward to seeing blue sky.