Ice/Rain/Snow/Slush Day

Ok peeps, not sure how much you know about my lovely city of Ottawa, Ontario Canada and I truly hope this blog doesn't make you strike it off your list of places to visit but ohmiword was it ever miserable today!! My little city is one of my favourite places  in the world (I've lived here over 26 years) and is full of fantastic-ness. We have rivers, lakes, forests, moutains (well big hills to hike), a canal that runs straight through the city and a perfect mix of big city and small town. We have bike and run paths that make my heart smile and wonderful, down to earth people... but gosh... it was (to quote my fave Babbling Abby) twenty five kinds of ugly here today.

You may not know much about Ottawa weather so allow me to educate you. During summers, we have beautiful, but overwhelming heat and humidity and 30 to 40 degree weather with humidex ratings. Spring and fall are delightful and varied, but winters are RIDIC. We have -30Celsius weather (colder if there is a windchill) and we frequently have 2 foot snow drops or freezing rain so bad that the ice that accumulates on branches makes entire trees fall over.

This blessed morning I woke up with a slow, sleepy smile as I realized it was vendredi (Friday for all of you working on your French. We say "Dieu merci c'est vendredi" a.k.a Thank God it's Friday). And then *POP!* (That is the sound of my bubble bursting) I checked my phone and saw a text message from my teaching partner saying that the busses are cancelled due to severe freezing rain warning and snow fall advisory. Yes, that's both snow AND freezing rain in the same day.

Now you may be thinking, oh what wonderful news! A snow day- school will be closed!  Non. Not the case. In Ottawa, we could have 15 feet of snow and the schools would still be open. Teachers would be handed a shovel and asked to dig their way in to their classrooms. For real. The last time the schools closed was for the Great Ice Storm of 1998 and the whole city was out of power and there were trees falling on cars and houses.

Now, I don't say this to complain because no one likes a complainer, but the system is a bit wacky. The school busses are cancelled because the road conditions are so awful, but teachers are still expected to drive in and parents are still expected to drive their kids to school and then to work.

This is incredibly difficult for parents who have to take time off work, and it is heartbreaking for teachers and administrators who have to figure out what to do with the sweet darlings that get caught in the scheduling mishaps and chaos that the school becomes on these days.

Well folks, cross your fingers for better weather for us.