Deep Snow

Do you think you live in a snow belt? I know the people in St. Marys keep saying this. Try living in Ottawa. It can get really deep there.

Marie and I often walked our dog, Sarah, when we lived in Ottawa. There was a greenbelt nearby where we could let her run free. We took along Isabel’s black lab, Sarcen, who was best pals with ours.

On this particular day, the snow was rather deep. Marie, I and the dogs were struggling to make a path. Regardless, the canines bounded forward with great energy. I followed. Marie was behind all of us.

Suddenly I heard this cry of anger from Marie. She shouted, “Why are you walking ahead? Why don’t you walk beside me?”

I’m glad she asked that question. Otherwise she would have been silently upset. I find that when this happens it gets mixed with something else later on and comes out really smelly. Anyway, I had the perfect answer.

I was not walking ahead of her to be apart from her. I was doing this so I could clear a path and make it easier for Marie to walk.

Suddenly her anger turned to tenderness. She had completely misunderstood my motive for forging ahead. Her reasoning was perfectly logical. It’s just that her logic was completely wrong. Once she understood my actions, she realized that my actions were done with kindness.

Communication is so important in a relationship. It clears up misunderstandings. Without it, it’s like trying to find the light switch in a dark room you are not familiar with. You may eventually find it and illuminate the situation. Often you don’t and just have to guess what is going on.

Had Marie not asked the question and had I not answered it, both of us would have been trudging through deep snow in our lives for some time to come.