After we came to Canada, my husband and I bought ourselves skates but were too embarrassed to stumble on the ice. So after a couple of tentative tries, we carted them from house to house, as we moved around, finally donating them to goodwill. Likewise with cross country skis which we used a little more, over a couple of winters on the beautiful wooded trails close to our Blind River home. Our move to Toronto saw us gravitating towards all things Indian in an attempt to create a comfortable cocoon for ourselves and introduce our child to her heritage. Luckily for Utta she took to winter, having moved here when she was just 18 months. As a toddler, she loved playing in the snow and would refuse to come inside while I froze watching over her. She learned to skate, play ice hockey and ski downhill. It's no wonder she does not complain about winter!
My favourite pastime in the winter is complaining about it. And yet we live in a nation whose tag line for the Olympics was "we are winter" and where the winter scenes just take my breath away! I love the hush of a snowy day, walking on a crisp cold day and recall with fondness a well deserved hot chocolate after a couple of hours of exhausting but exhilarating cross country skiing. Like everything else it's always that first step. Rather than recoil and cower inside with confused thoughts about winter - all irrational and learnt - I am determined to tackle the great outdoors. Skating maybe? I am sure there is a rink around the corner from me and a pair of rental skates available for a song. I just need my brave face. What greater motivation than making my daughter proud and perhaps one day skating with her. I hope to blog about my skating experiences which hopefully do not include tales of broken bones! (Ok ok - no more negative thoughts)
And how about those Canadian athletes!!
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