So last night the weather was pretty bad.
Despite the freezing rain and the snow, seven of us decided to go and play tennis in the evening. It was definitely fun, since I booked the court for an hour, and we ended up playing for two-and-a-half hours... but when we left I got a taste of a real Ontario winter night.
The car was covered in a sheet of ice (as opposed to the frosty windows we get in Vancouver). We had some troubles getting out of the parking lot, so four pushed the car while I steered. Success. We drive to drop R off at home. Turning onto her street a bit, we then get stuck again. We get out and push again, but it doesn't work. We try backing up several times, but there's too much snow and we don't have a shovel. And S doesn't have winter tires on his car... K has an idea to put cardboard under the tires - it helps, but doesn't get us out. We see cars passing by, and as a car turns into a townhouse complex on the other side of the street, that car gets stuck too. Some of us go and help them in by pushing their car, and they succeed. They come and help us, another car stops and helps, and other cars slow and ask if we need help (but we decline because by this time we have about three or four random guys helping). R walks home to get a shovel, and the people from the townhouse complex across the street go and grab their shovel too. After shovelling and pushing we finally get out! And we're all drenched because during all of this, it was raining. Thanks to God for bringing kind strangers our way.
And since we were playing tennis, I was in my tennis clothes and runners, and not really dressed for that weather. I didn't even have mitts, so pushing the car was a bit hard. And so as I walked/jogged home from the main street (as S wouldn't be able to drive out if he drove onto my street) I wondered how funny it'd be if someone saw me jogging at 1AM with my tennis racquet slung around my shoulder. Or if they'd think I was just going for a jog in the nice weather :) Or just crazy.
All in all we each made it home safely. And another experience to add to the books :)
