When Snow Comes to Town

Tessa: This morning when I left for work it was snowing and icy on the roads. All weekend it has been snowing in Vancouver. Big, heavy, fat snowflakes that look like diamonds have blanketed the city. Yesterday we took Reuben and went walking in the woods behind our house. If you paused a moment you could hear the trees creeking under the weight of the snow. When we entered the path that takes us to the soccer field, where we exercise our world cup skills, all the trees and branches had formed an arc over the path giving the impression that we were entering some kind of hidden snow cave. The contrast with the snow and the dark brown branches was startling.

We went home to drink some of our boiled water and we're going to settle in for the night when the power went down. So we sat in the dark with candles drinking wine waiting for life to resume its usual pace. Lately Vancouver feels like its on the brink of disaster, like we're just skirting the edge of something even bigger and more chaotic. People say hello at the grocery store as they're carting away litres of bottled water, hunkered down in snow boots, and down jackets. I like this feeling. It reminds me of snowstorms when I was little and we all got to stay home from school and eat grilled cheese sandwiches and watch TV. I'm hoping this continues for a few more days though I heard that the water resource people have removed the boil water advisory. Still I'm looking forward to going home later on the seabus where I'll talk to other commuters, a little comment here and there about the weather, the water, the power situation. It's nicer than silence and makes me hope that those big, fabulous, diamond flakes keeping pouring down from the sky.