Wow! Just wow! Christmas 2022 certainly was one we will be talking about for many years to come.
It truly felt like we were a part of a Hallmark movie; country style. Christmas Eve played out exactly like a movie from Netflix, even having the potential to have ended up with a romantic-comedy storyline.
Waking up in a complete blizzard, looking out the door and barely being able to see our vehicles, which looked more like snowbanks than cars, left me at a loss for how to get to work. Luckily, I’m only two minutes down the road, so the boss was able to offer his tractor taxi services and came to pick me up. There would have been no other way. Some of the snowbanks developing on the road were even a struggle for the tractor to get through.
Tractors were also used as snow plows, tow trucks and guides back to the highway. The stories of how the farmers found ways to get to their barns to do chores, thaw out equipment and convince cows that the snow banks in the barn weren’t going to harm them, could have been enough for a movie. But the movie got better when you add in the Christmas travelers all of a sudden continuously appearing on the road, because their highway routes were being cut off.
This is where the Rom Com part of our Country Christmas movie could’ve begun. Farmers were offering assistance to all the travelers, who were driving directly into snowbanks as high as their cars. Damsels in distress were being rescued and offered a warm, safe place to stay. Of course, this is just my creative mind exaggerating the story to make it movie worthy, but there were many residents on our back country roads who did open their doors to those who were stranded, welcoming them into their homes to spend Christmas Eve safe and warm.
Amidst all the stormy chaos, we still had much for which to be thankful. We were fortunate enough to have had no damage or loss of power. Many others were not as fortunate. Plans to travel to see family were cancelled, but we were still able to experience the magic and spirit of Christmas by helping others. The warmth you feel when someone expresses so much gratitude to you for providing shelter and assistance is a true magic of Christmas experience. Something so routine for country dwellers; offering assistance to neighbours and those in need, often comes as a surprise to others not from around here. The tractor drivers were told by a few that they had renewed their faith that there are still Good Samaritans in our world.
On Christmas morning, a sigh of relief was heard down the length of the road, as the snow began to let up and we could finally see the neighbouring farms again. You don’t realize how boxed in it feels when you can only see a foot in front of you, until the lid is taken off and you can see the light again. Christmas Day may not have been spent opening presents with extended family, but the calm and beauty we were given after the storm was a gift more precious than any store-bought item could be.
While Daddy and Grandpa were busy clearing the 18-foot-high snowdrift out of the farm yard, my little farmer and I took full advantage of the beautiful gift Mother Nature left us. We put our new snow shoes to good use, found beautiful little alcoves and trails under the snow-covered branches of the trees and simply soaked in the fresh air and sunshine we had been missing for the last few days. By choosing to see the beauty in all the chaos and be grateful we were all safe, warm and fed, it ended up still being a perfect Christmas.
Anyone watching those couple of days play out from above, truly must have felt they were watching it from their Netflix app. We were the fortunate ones. Many were not as lucky, and I will forever be grateful there was not more damage done and that we were able to help others in need.
Now it’s all gone and we are left with beautiful glittering ice, shimmering on tree branches. Our country Christmas movie will be replayed in everyone’s memories and stories for many years to come and now we have entered a new year to fill with new goals, changes and adventures!
Happy New Year Everyone!
