Let’s face it: an Ottawa winter isn’t easy at the best of times. Even if you love the snow, most people have to brace themselves a little for the cold and the traffic and the sheer length of it. And it can feel like adding insult to injury when winter’s icy fingers reach back to scatter snow across the tail end of autumn, too. So many people I’ve spoken to lately have said they blinked and somehow missed the fall; they feel cheated out of the crisp but not biting air, the crunch of leaves under foot and that unmistakeable autumnal glow.

But even a snowstorm can have a silver lining. The upside of winter rearing her frosty head early is that it gives us an opportunity to slow down at a time of year when everything tends to ramp up. The cold might have driven us indoors a little sooner than we’d like, but in doing so it has given us the perfect excuse to connect with friends over a cup of something warm, to unwind and centre ourselves on the mat or just to curl up under a pile of blankets and get your holiday shopping done with the click of a button.

So go ahead mourn the missed autumn, but don’t forget to take the opportunity an early winter offers. After all, we’ll be back here again soon enough.