Terms of endearment

While the phrases our mums once used don't date so well, other life lessons stay the distance.

- PAT MCDERMOTT

The month of March is the trickiest month of the year almost everywhere in the world. Snow melts in some places and freezes in others. In Canada, where I grew up, March led the whole country down the garden path year after year.

First, after a long cold winter, we’d enjoy a bit of light rain. My sister and I would ditch our parkas at last and go outside wearing only jackets and a smile. A few unwary tulips were already poking their heads above ground. That was enough to convince us to leave gloves and warm scarves at home.

But then, five minutes later, wild winds driven by a furious snowstorm would drum down straight from the Arctic. Naughty boys would resume dumping snow in our hoods on the way to school and city skyscrapers wore top hats of thick white snow once again.