If you haven’t heard by now, Ottawa was hit with a whopping storm yesterday. As Canadians, we’re used to snow. We’re used to lots of snow. But I don’t think anyone was prepared for the 50 cm of snow we got in less than 24 hours yesterday. Everyone knew it was coming, but judging from my own reaction and all of the reactions I saw on social media, nobody was REALLY ready for how much 50 cm would actually look like.
I couldn’t help but write something this morning because although some people were inconvenienced, and obviously there was a rise in accidents (sorry if that applies to you!), what I saw yesterday as a result of the snow was overwhelming kindness.
My personal story: I got stuck in the parking lot at work. Someone lent me their shovel and then two other people helped push me out. If it hadn’t been for those three guys, I wouldn’t have been going anywhere. Of course, I had to pass it along: I helped to shovel out those who were stuck at my second job, late last night.
The thing is, all morning, I’ve been hearing and reading stories about the kindness of strangers across the board. Everyone had a crazy experience yesterday and not one person seems to have gotten through it on their own. People went from lane to lane with their snowblowers to help people get out of their houses. People dug and pushed out cars that had gotten stuck in snowbanks. People worked in teams to uncover cars that were literally buried in parking lots. I watched one woman take the arm of a visually impaired man and help him navigate the snowy sidewalks on the way to work this morning. And none of these stories even include the first responders and snow removal crews who worked (and are still working) tirelessly to respond to the aftermath of #snowmagedon.
So what did 50 cm of snow remind me? First, to keep a shovel in my trunk during the winter. But more importantly, there is kindness all around us and we have a lot to be grateful for.
You can read some random act of kindness snow stories here. Stay safe, Ottawa!
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