Snow Day!

Yesterday was a good day!

I have been to Webster's Falls in southern Ontario many, many times and it's a different experience each  time I go.  Yesterday's visit has to be one my favourite times ever.   I've heard of people walking on the ledge behind the falls but I've never done it - let alone in the middle of winter.  The waterfall was mostly frozen yesterday so there was a spectacular curtain of ice from top to bottom.  It was like walking through an ice cave.  I could have stayed down there all day, had it not been for the frigid temperatures!

My favourite moment of 2014 -- so far! (behind Webster's Falls)

After we hiked back to the car yesterday, my friend and I decided to hit the road to see what Niagara Falls looked like, as well.  It was a little on the cold side -- ok, I lie... it was frigid and brutal and I thought I would die! -- the mist from the powerful  falls froze instantly to our hats and coats and faces,  but it was a great experience nonetheless.  It's great seeing these sights at different times throughout the year and this was my first winter visit to these falls.  I have to admit, if I didn't have to do silly little things like taking care of my household and working for instance, I'd be out adventuring like this every day!  :-)

The powerful Niagara in winter!

In the evening, I finally had a long over-due chat with my step-momma.  The past few days I've been needing a little girl talk and as much as I love my dad, it's just not the same! (He tried, though, bless his heart!)  When I called earlier in the day, Ellie was at work so I didn't get a chance to talk with her till late last night.  The chat really did me a lot of good, though.  We talked about the day's events and the awful weather but also about life and love and past mistakes and friendships new and old.  Talking with her helps me to keep little day-to-day trivial things in perspective, and I hope it does the same for her.  Before we knew it, it was 1am and we were both exhausted and ready to call it a day.  At one point she exclaimed, "Nancy, you and your father are so much alike!"  My first thought was, "Hey! Wait... I'm not a stubborn old grump!"  (said playfully and with love, of course!) but the more I think about it, the more I believe that I am like my dad.  And I am very proud of that.  As painful as the past has been for our family at certain points in time, I know that my dad is a good man who cares about his family and would do anything to make sure that we are all happy and healthy and safe.  The ability to say I'm sorry and honestly make the effort to change my not-so-positive behaviours is something I've learned from him.  He taught me (through his words AND his actions) that if I make a mistake or hurt someone, I need to be humble enough to own it and then do my best to make amends.  He doesn't want me to be like the masses who claim that they're sorry for their bad acts (if they are indeed insightful enough to recognize them) but then turn around again and again to hurt people in the same ways.  It's not easy and I'm certainly not perfect by any means, nor is he.  But we try.  I really do thank him for teaching me these things throughout the years.  And of course, I thank my step-mom for not only praising me for my good traits, but for also calling me on my crappy ones like any good mother should ;-)  I've certainly been blessed with some amazing people in my life.  

It's not a grumpy Monday for me at all.  The fresh air and sunshine did me a lot of good yesterday and I actually slept throughout the night for the first time in 2014.  And then I woke up this morning to find this giggle on Facebook from a friend:

I commented: "I love how you posted this at 6:30am on a Monday morning!"  Ohh, she's a hoot.  :-)

Most of Hamilton / Dundas has a snow day today.  It's days like this I am sorry that I can work from home :-P   I will admit to hitting the snooze button after I quickly checked my emails and Facebook this morning.  Since there was nothing pressing that had to be done at that ungodly hour,  I relished staying in bed an extra little bit.  Alas, life has to go on, snow or no snow, and work still needs to get done.   So I will end here while wishing everyone a very happy Monday!  

- NWK