Columnists
Warm and fuzzy
Happy Valentine’s Week! I think of this week as the gateway to warmer weather and who among us couldn’t use a little bit of warmer weather?! A much younger me loved the snowy days. It often meant the school bus couldn’t make it from town and we’d stand at the corner of Weston Road and Gaydon until the guy at the gas station told us to go home, “There’s no bus today. Go tell yer mom she loves ya.” Home we’d go to put a massive dent in Mom’s day by being underfoot, noisy, warm and generally useless. Mom didn’t like winter, for obvious reasons, but our parents made the means to give us the hot cocoa, a warm home and suitable outdoor wear.
And here I am, hoping for a break in the weather and probably being a bit useless. I wonder if I’ll actually leave the house today. Being on the shady side of seventy doesn’t make going for a walk in the winter something that ranks high on my to-do list. I don’t know about all y’all, but I was done with winter on Boxing Day last year. Seriously, if I have to deal with a deep freeze and mountains of snow anytime past the 26th of December I’m no longer a happy person. I’m done with hunkering down, clearing the snow off the Rolls-Can-Hardly and digging paths to bird feeders and to the sidewalk. A very outdoorsy friend suggested the best defence against winter was to dress for it. Like I said, I am on the shady side of seventy. I’m not exactly unstable on my feet, but once I am bundled in my “guaranteed to keep you warm in minus 25 temperature” jacket, my wooly socks, my fuzzy boots and all of the peripherals, I’m not sure I could be steady on my feet. Bundled up like the Michelin Man, if I did slip and fall how the heck would I get up? How long would I “be down” before someone happened by and decided they could help me up? I’ll take my chances with limited exposure to the wilds of winter in Ontario while painting or reading a book. Maybe I’ll bake something. I could get back to decluttering.
Aside from my current aversion to snow and frigid temperatures, I do worry about anyone who might have to go out, these days. The last week, in those mega-minus days, I was in GT I noticed a couple of women who were wearing “slippers”, fuzzy jammie pants and hoodies. I could barely maneuver in my parka, scarf, mittens and toque. I quietly hoped their car was close-by. Then wondered if, perhaps, they just didn’t have proper winter wear and maybe there wasn’t a car closeby. Because I’m an over-thinker I thought it would be nice if there were a “snowsuit” fund for the adults who can’t afford proper winter clothing. I’m sure there is, but those two women made me shiver thinking that might have been the case for them. My point is, in a roundabout way, there are people in our community who are not able to dress for the weather (for whatever reason) and there are people in our community who may not have a warm, safe place to live. While the municipality does offer “warming centres” during the coldest days, their open hours are usually limited to normal hours of operation. However, the Hope Centre on King Street is the exception, offering warm space between the hours of 8 p.m. and 7 a.m. However, because of their limited space, and resources, there are a few restrictions. Can we do better than this? We really should be able to. Do I have an answer? I really don’t. I know the Hope Centre does the best they can with what they have and I am grateful for their outreach.
People who are experiencing frigid temperatures could be homeless or outdoor workers or people who are housed but can’t afford the price of utilities or warm clothing. The Hope Centre operates through donations, community fundraising and grants. Even a small donation to the Hope Centre could make a warm difference to a person living in the cold. While the Hope Centre’s program doesn’t solve all of the winter cold problems for people, it’s what’s available in our community for overnight warming. Donations will keep those doors open for people in need and can be made by e-transfer to ourhopecentre@gmail.com.
Get all Valentine-y sweet by doing something extraordinary for someone in need of a bit of warmth and love. THANKS!
Comments (0)