As Canadians, we grow up with winter.
We are moulded by it by virtue of living nearly one third of our lives in it.
Yet, even when we know what to expect from winter and how it has never come and gone with the precision of the seasons on a calendar, we are still left stunned when it makes early or late appearances in our lives.
Perhaps the old mantra is true — expect the unexpected. So perhaps we should not have been all that surprised when all the weather forecasters were calling for a heavy snowfall last Thursday.
It’s Canada. It’s Alberta. We can get snow at any time of the year.
But what must have been surprising was how accurate those predictions were, for once.
Forty centimetres of snow fell on Westlock last Thursday, turning the town streets and surrounding roads into near-impenetrable swaths of land.
But like always, life must go on. And it did.
Even while the snow fell unendingly, people were out clearing sidewalks and driveways.
There was no apparent sense of “woe is me” coming from people, even from those who had the misfortune of getting their vehicles stuck in the white bog.
Yes, they were likely upset at being stuck, but they were hardly alone — both in their predicament and in actual fact.
It’s strange, but disasters, even ones as relatively miniscule and common as a heavy snowfall, tend to bring out the best in people.
It was hard not to see just how helpful people can be when others need help.
Get your car stuck in the snow? OK, I’ll help push you out.
Spin off the highway and end up in the ditch? Alright, let’s make sure you’re OK and that help is on the way.
It’s a mark of a strong community when people band together and willingly sacrifice some of their own comfort to help others.
It’s never fun to get stuck in a snow bank at the best of times. But when it does happen and other people stop to help instead of simply driving by, it shows we’re not going to let a little bit of white powder from the sky ruin our lives.
So Westlock, good on you for getting through another winter.
