Winter...the danger

While you 'wow' and say 'they are so lucky'...let me tell you in the midst of all the beauty, danger lurks in winter too. Remember I told you about the snow melting and the road becoming slippery, that's where all the danger lies.

I remembered when I was still in Singapore watching the news on TV about winter in temperate countries, I often saw footage of cars sliding on the highway and banging onto cars in front of them. Those footage have come alive. Thankfully, there were no accidents but they were real and they were frightening.



These icy roads are very dangerous. I had to drive Kai out to the main road to wait for the school transport. After letting him off at the bus stop, I couldn't get my car to move. There was no control over the car at all.
Although I shift my steering wheel to the left and right, the wheels were not moving. It took four to five kind neighbours to help me pushed the car. When fetching Kai, I decided not to drive to avoid any accident. When I walked out, I fell straight
onto the icy floor! You have to wear the right kind of shoes to make sure that the sole of the shoes could grip onto the icy road.

During the winter months, it is also not unusual to hear of old people who live of their own, dying of the cold in their house. Yesterday the temperature was -2 deg F (-16 deg C). That's really cold. Then there were always the poor, who couldn't afford heater or thicker clothes...all these make winter a very miserable time for some.

I used to long for white Christmas. Looking at photographs, watching movies. A white Christmas seemed so beautiful. I used to envy people who could sit near the fireplace, with a real pine Christmas tree adorned with beautiful ornatments and presents. Families gathered at the dinner table to eat turkey and Christmas pudding. All these were movie-perfect scenes. Yes, they only happened in the movies. Winter is the most ironical season, it's beautiful but it is also very miserable.

Now that I have experienced a white Christmas, I thank God that I live in the tropics and the experience I had. While it may not be the most perfect place to have Christmas but let me tell you honestly and from the bottom of my heart....you will never wish for a white Christmas after experiencing one...oh by the way, I don't mean the guided-tour white Christmas holidays.