As much as I hate to plagiarize the punch line from a TV show I don't even watch, "Winter is coming". That is most certainly true here in Calgary as we get our first heavy snow of the season. Winter comes early here, then goes away for a day or two, then comes back, then goes away, etc., etc., etc. Temperatures will start from freezing today, increasing each day, until Friday it will be summer like temperatures, then it will start to get cold again.
That's one of the amazing things about winter here. It can be bitterly cold one day, then the next day a Chinook blows in over the Rockies. The temperatute shoots up. Snow and ice melt. Then, a few days later, winter returns. Right now my tree is draped in heavy snow, the branchs drooping downwards, holding the thinly veiled threat of breaking under the weight. Tomorrow those same branches will lift once again, bringing back the birds that so brighten my day.
This return of cold affects me directly in a couple of ways. First, the snow, slush, and ice make it difficult for me to drive my wheelchair. I get stuck sometimes. I have to go out of my way other times to avoid getting stuck. So I have to wait for the Chinook to come, or for the city and residents, to clear various roads, sidewalks, and pathways. On the first day of the storm, with snow and cold all about, I am a confirmed shut-in these days. Second, I don't have all the best winter footwear. I should probably find some boots which zip up at the side; ones where I can put them on myself. I've had winter gear for a long time, but the boots of the past are too difficult for me now.
Regardless, this early blast of winter will not keep me trapped for long. I'm already looking out the window and thinking about whether or not to go to the mall. I have nothing to purchase, but I haven't been out for a few days. It's about time. If not today, then tomorrow. It will be warmer, and there won't be snow on the sidewalks. I decline to live my life as a shut-in.
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