Winter walking… sort of
I am a klutz.
Have been since I was a kid. Not the full-on definition of the word (a clumsy, awkward or foolish person). But definitely the meaning most people associate with it (someone who trips or bumps into stuff a lot). Often it is because I am not paying attention to where I am going. Mostly I think I am just wired that way.
The Evidence.
Once I was walking to the school bus and someone behind me called my name. I turned around to see who it was and ended up walking into a telephone pole. Although I am sure that my pride suffered more that morning, I still have a physical memory of the pain when I think about it.
I have removed a suitcase from the baggage carousel and put it down to get another one… only to trip over the first one. Would love to say that this has happened only once. I have even managed to trip over other people’s suitcases.
Throughout my life I have hit my head on tables or counter-tops when I have bent over to pick up something from the floor. Usually it is something I have just dropped.
Anyone raising a child knows that reflex you develop of blocking corners of tables with your hand so that little heads won’t bash into them. I need someone to watch me like that. Five years in I am still accidentally standing up under the low arch behind my desk at work.
These are, unfortunately, only a few examples. Anyone who knows me can testify to the fact that there are many many more.
Winter is the culprit!
Quebec is amazing! So many beautiful places to see. During spring, summer and fall I walk with total confidence and ease. Sometimes I even do lunges and/or squats while I walk. (My kids would be mortified!) Hee Hee Hee.
But there is another season…winter!
I was driving on this road the other day and stopped to snap a photo because it showed perfectly the look of the environment at the time. It looks innocent… but look closer.
As you can see winter hasn’t really settled in yet. One day it is -9C and the next day is +4C. Though we haven’t yet had a big snowfall there have been a few inches here and there. That small amount of snow added to the yoyo temperature changes and you have the perfect conditions for my worst klutz nightmare..ice!
Ice used to be fun.
When we were younger my mom used to take my sister and me ice skating. I don’t remember being particularly good but after a few falls on the ice I would heave myself up and manage to skate around the rink for a while…the wooden railing never far from my sight.
[Side note: Do you remember when you were done skating or had to pee you got to look cool casually walking around on your skates. Thank goodness for those thick black floor mats! After skating came the even cooler feeling of being in skates even though I had my shoes on.]
Back then the ice was fun and friendly and only occasionally painful.
So! It is just ice!
Anyone who says that it clearly not prone to slipping and falling.
Before moving here I don’t think that I really grasped the concept of ice on the ground and all that it could entail. During my first winter I Iearned that what it entailed was numerous instances of falling on my rear end.
I came to realize that people born here instictively walk in a way that makes them more stable and solid. Maybe that applies to anyone born somewhere with a real winter season. I was raised in Southern California where water is usually in liquid form. Ask me to swim and I am all about that. Once the water freezes I am quite literally floundering. I walk worried that there is ice everywhere, which makes my walking somewhat unnatural and decidedly less stable. And if or when I do start to slip I tense up which always make the falls worse.
But then I discovered ice cleats! Wow! Serious game changer. They are like the cleats on soccer shoes but made for gripping the ice. The only problem is that they are not comfortable to walk on if there is no ice. And you sound like you are tap dancing if you walk into a store with them. So when to wear them? Also, where to keep them?
They are kind of like those reusable bags everyone keeps in their car and then forgets to take when you actually need one. Tried keeping them in my purse, but I kept stabbing myself when I would reach in for my wallet. I also tried my car, but then was stuck if we didn’t use my car that day. They make boots with built-in and retractable cleats. Sounds great. However, knowing how technology hates me, the cleats would probably get stuck in the permanent “out” position.
I’m still working on finding the ideal solution. Much like my dollar store reading glasses… I will probably breakdown and buy several pairs of ice cleats and leave them in stratique places.
Because I will always be a klutz, I imagine that I will always be envious of the ease with which most “Quebecers” walk on any winter road. But, in the end(pun intended), taking a walk outside is more important. Because I get to see stuff like this…
