Don’t worry. This won’t be a lecture on how we should be so thankful for what we have, and how we shouldn’t take things for granted, yadda, yadda yadda.

No, instead, I just want to share with you two little examples of how things can really shake us up when they’re different from what we’re used to.

My first item is the weather. Here in Montreal we’re used to winter hitting us in late November or early December. We’ve usually had a major (or at least semi-major!) snowfall by mid December. And most likely it’s been darn cold, all the while.

Well this year, it was weird – as was the case in a lot of places, mainly due to the strong El Niño effect, scientists tell us. Here we had downright balmy temperatures all through November and even December. We had a green Christmas, much to the chagrin of kids, retailers and ski hill operators.

But as for me – I loved it! And why not? I’m not a kid, don’t own a store, and don’t ski. Looove the warmth, hate the cold! By the weekend before New Year’s I’d gotten so used to the mild weather and lack of snow, I hadn’t even hauled my boots out of their off-season storage spot yet.

So you guessed it. We had a storm that dumped 45 centimeters – what’s that, about 10 feet? 😉 – of snow – and today, the temperatures plummeted from above freezing down to WAY BELOW FREEZING. Which, when I think about it, is pretty much par for the course for a Montreal winter.

So, yes. I’d taken our spring-like weather for granted when we had it. Sigh.

The second thing is this. My kitty, Annie, has a sweet habit of greeting me at the door when I get home from work. Sometimes she’s resting in one of her 1,314 favourite spots, but then she comes to welcome me home. And then she snuggles with me in the recliner for a little while, until I feel like getting up to make supper.

But today was different. She was sleeping in her little kitty bed when I got home. She raised her head in greeting but didn’t come down to “say hello” to me.

I was home for about an hour when I started wondering, maybe she’s not feeling well…

It was an hour and a half before she finally came into the living room. She sat with me for a bit on “our” recliner… but now she’s back in her bed. Well, now I can’t blame her – I’m at the computer, so maybe she’s annoyed with me!

The point is, though, I got so used to our greeting routine, took it for granted, if you will, that it really threw me when it didn’t happen.

I will try to live more mindfully from now on.