Would everyone please stop complaining about the cold and snow?

Would everyone please stop complaining about the cold and snow?

By Roma(ˈrōmə) Ihnatowycz

I spent most of my teenage(ˈtēnˌāj) years despising(dəˈspīz) winter, viewing it as an aberration(ˌabəˈrāSHən), a gross(grōs) miscalculation(ˌmisˌkalkyəˈlāSHən) by the weather gods when they were fashioning the calendar(ˈkaləndər) year. They must have had an off-day, I thought. Or, as it happens, an off-season.

It’s not a surprising sentiment(ˈsen(t)əmənt) for someone who spent most of her youthful winters in Toronto on the brink(briNGk) of hypothermia(ˌhīpəˈTHərmēə). Even in subzero temperatures(-ˌCHo͝or,ˈtemp(ə)rəCHər), my outdoor attire(əˈtī(ə)r) was little more than a thin(THin) ski(skē) jacket(ˈjakət) and flimsy(ˈflimzē) leather(ˈleT͟Hər) boots. Between the two were knee(nē) socks and a very short uniform(ˈyo͞onəˌfôrm) kilt(kilt). I survived(sərˈvīv) winter virtually(ˈvərCHə(wə)lē) bare-legged(ˈleɡ(ə)d) and spent months cursing(kərs) the cold while speed-walking home and praying(prā) desperately(ˈdesp(ə)rətlē) for the first signs of spring. Sound familiar?

Then I moved to even colder Montreal(ˌmäntrēˈôl) for university and was spellbound(ˈspelbīnd) at the gusto(ˈgəstō) with which the locals embraced(emˈbrās) my least(lēst) favourite season. On frigid(ˈfrijid) January(ˈjanyo͞oˌerē) weekends, they gathered on Mont Royal(ˈroiəl), families in tow, for an afternoon walk. “What on earth?!” I thought. At the Winter Carnival(ˈkärnəvəl) in Quebec(kəˈbek, kwəˈbek) City, I stumbled(ˈstəmbəl) upon an outdoor play – an outdoor play! And it was a full house, with people sitting on snow-covered benches(benCH) intently(inˈtentlē) watching, children included. Stranger yet, they looked happy. Years later, it’s no surprise Quebec opened the continent’s(ˈkäntnənt) first, and only, Ice Hotel.

But the Quebeckers I encountered were bundled up warmly in hats(hat), scarves(skärvz) and proper winter boots – there wasn’t a thin jacket in sight(sīt). In other words, they were warm. I wasn’t. Time to go shopping.

And just like that, I discovered how tolerable(ˈtälərəbəl) winter could be when you’re dressed for it. For the first time in my life, it was winter and I wasn’t covered in goosebumps(ˈɡo͞osˌbəmps). It was a revelation(ˌrevəˈlāSHən). My walking slowed down, I noticed the views and I was no longer consumed with the thought of reaching the great indoors, counting the minutes it would take to get me there.

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https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/first-person/article-would-everyone-please-stop-complaining-about-the-cold-and-snow/