This is what I sound like in December:

“I love winter. I love everything about winter – the hockey, skiing, skating, and even making snowmen. I love gathering around a toasty fire and drinking hot chocolate with marshmallows. I love the way the snowflakes glitter as they fall past the streetlight. Yay, for cozy sweaters and woolly socks!”

And this is what I sound like in March:

“I hate winter. I am so sick of the cold. Enough with the snow, slush, sleet and snowplows! If you even dare speak to me about your beach vacation, I will impale you with my ice scraper. My toes have not seen the light of day since December. Why must I live in this Godforsaken country?!”

I do love living in a country where we celebrate all the four seasons, but I find my relationship with winter gets a little stale by the end of February. I find myself saying to Old Man Winter, “It’s been great spending time with you but I need to see other seasons. It’s not you, it’s me.” Despite the evidence and dire warnings about global warming, I feel like winters are getting longer and colder. It’s all in my head – but also in my feet and hands too!

Here we are now in March and I am so ready for that break from winter, from hockey, from snow, and even from hot chocolate and marshmallows. As I stand hugging my coffee cup looking out over a backyard blanketed in white snow, I dream of waking up and looking out into a sea of blue and a beach blanketed in white sand. It’s time. It’s time for my March Breakaway.

See, last year for March Break I did not get my sunny break. Instead, we combined hockey and skiing in a quintessentially Canadian March Break. We spent the first weekend of March Break in Toronto at the Leaside tournament, followed by a week of skiing at Tremblant. We did not escape the cold and snow at all. There was no blue lagoon or sandy beach in sight. And if you recall, our winter last year then had the audacity to stretch into April with a few late season snowstorms. By the time it was over, I was beginning to wonder if I would ever thaw.

This year I put my foot – and the hockey bags – down. I wanted to spend some time in the sun and warm waters of the Caribbean. Our hockey season now complete, playoffs in the books and with no plans for post season tournaments or exhibition games, there was no excuse. So, by the time you read this, I’ll be sipping a cool rum punch on a beach in a tropical paradise. I’ll joyfully leave my arena blanket and down jacket behind and trade them in for a beach chair and the shade of a palm tree. And no Zamboni in sight! Hasta la vista, Old Man Winter. And you have my permission to hit me on the head with a coconut if I complain about the heat!

Three cheers for March Breakaways – hoping yours is a warm one!