Thursday, March 14, 2013

Spring in Canada

By now, if all went well en route, I should be in Tel Aviv. If the weather folks were right, I should be trying to convince my body that it does indeed enjoy 30 degree weather and that, ready or not, it will be running a half marathon tomorrow.

But I don't want to write about 30 degrees. I want to write about last weekend and the positively balmy spring weather we enjoyed in Ontario.

On Saturday afternoon, Doug and I, freshly showered and fed after our runs, headed to Burlington. We were going to a swim shop we had heard about that sells performance bathing suits. You know, the kind that don't disintegrate in chlorine. I was pretty fed up with my latest suit that I bought in January. It is already see-through in a few spots that really shouldn't be see-through. So we headed up the highway and bought new bathing suits that should hold up to our thrice a week swim sessions.

On the way home, we drove through downtown Burlington. Remember, it was March 9th, by the lake, a mere 8 degrees outside. Patios were open and hopping, couples were strolling along the waterfront and families were eating ice cream...outside.

I love spring in Canada.

Sunday morning, guess what we did?

We went cycling of course.

We were sensible enough to wait until 10:30am and, as the temperature hit 6 degrees, we joined our hardy friends for our first ride of the year. Flocks of geese flew overhead. The swollen rivers flowed fast and furious. The sun beat down and made the winter wind feel almost balmy.

I love spring in Canada.

Every spring, I wonder the same thing. I wonder how many people recently moved to Canada from another country and are about to experience their first spring. Does it feel magical the first time or does it take a few years before people are able to smell the change in the air? To spot the first buds on the trees and the first crocus popping up through the snow? To notice the extra minutes of daylight and the increasing urgency of the bird songs? To run without gloves for the first time in months and feel positively giddy?

I'm glad I got to feel that first taste of spring in Canada before I headed to Tel Aviv and into full blown summer.

1 comment:

  1. Shut up about your summer weather in Israel :/
    (just kidding but seriously)
    It's back to being in the negative celcius degrees. It's been snowing and winter is showing no signs of letting up. I'm glad I rode both days during that freak warm weekend because it surely was a freak weekend. Winter hasn't budged.

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