> Emotional and Mental Health > Holidays and Vacations

All I Want for Christmas
by author Jenn Farrell

When I asked my daughter about what to write for December�s column, her immediate reply was �snowmen.� While that�s probably not the ideal basis for an entire article, it did get me thinking.

For my daughter, the ultimate symbol of the winter holidays is snow�despite the fact that, as a born and bred West Coaster, she�s never seen a white Christmas and can probably count on one hand the number of times she�s been in enough snow to make a snowman.

Being a former Ontario girl, I remember snow fondly. You can�t toboggan in rain or go skating on ponds that refuse to freeze over. And what kid doesn�t pray for a snow day before a big exam?

The thing is, in most places in Canada, that prayer has a chance of actually being answered. Yes, I�m forgetting about driving in it, or shovelling my way out of it, or spending several months each winter half-buried in the stuff, as my friends and relatives are eager to remind me. But snow will forever be the linchpin of my wintertime nostalgia.

I dance for joy every time it snows in Vancouver, even though I know that it most likely will be gone within hours�or worse, will stick around just long enough to make a giant sea of brown slush at every corner with a blocked storm drain. But that doesn�t dampen my enthusiasm as the flakes drift down. And I�m pretty sure I�m the only one who feels good about it.

You�d think the novelty factor would be worth something, but Vancouverites (with the exception of those about to head up to Whistler) seem to hate snow the way the rest of Canada hates rain.

I often daydream about going away at Christmas to some snow-blanketed hideaway in BC�s interior. Hot chocolate, fireplaces, fuzzy slippers, and nothing but rolling white drifts all around and the sun reflecting off icicles. This vision, however, conflicts with my other daydream, which is more about rolling hills of sand and the sunlight reflecting off the blue Caribbean Sea. I think the general theme of these daydreams is �anywhere but here.�

I know I should be grateful for Vancouver�s mild weather and all the good things it brings: a beautifully green city; the ability to walk anytime and anywhere; the money I save on winter boots, coats, scarves, and mittens.

When February rolls around and I�m looking at the blossoms and going for runs along the beach, believe me, I am grateful. But on wet, grey December days, I would trade it all for a few nights of Ontario snow.

It�s only just over a year now until the Olympics come to Vancouver, and I bet I�ll find some kindred spirits then, when everyone in the city will be hoping for an unseasonably cold and snowy winter. But maybe we could use a bit of Olympic money to buy a few snowplows and street sanders? Just watch out for those snowmen.

Jenn Farrell wishes everyone happy holidays.

Source: alive #314, December 2008