Where we take a walk in the snow

My ladies
London, ON
January 2017

When my wife suggests we take a walk in the middle of a raging blizzard, I'm not one to disagree.

Truth be told, I miss walking. Without a dog to force me out of the house at regular intervals, I admit I've taken the easy way out and slacked off these past few weeks.

So when she shared her plans, I didn't hesitate. The winds were howling and as you can see, the snow was falling at a furious pace, adding to the thick layer already on the ground.

But we're Canadian, I thought. And this would be one of those moments we'd remember.

More on Instagram

She was right. My memories - beyond a bunch of pictures taken hurriedly on smartphones before stuffing them back into dry pockets and putting our gloves and mitts on before our fingers lost feeling due to the cold - revolve mostly around their happy voices cutting through the wind and layers of wool hat wrapping my head.

We retraced the same route we used to follow with the pup, in conditions that doubtless would have had him bouncing crazily through the snow, stopping often to bury his head deep as he shnorkeled loudly and happily. I never did quite figure out what he was looking for as he buried his head so far into the snow that his ears needed a brush-off when he was done, but I smiled to myself as I thought that today was a good day to get back out and embrace whatever it was that Mother Nature chose to throw at us.

Today may have created an indelible memory for all of us, but all I could think of as we stepped back into the house and hacked away at the snow that had accumulated on us was how soon we'd get to do it again.

I'm thinking tomorrow night. And maybe every night thereafter. If you're in the neighborhood, you're always welcome to join in.