Break-up Reflections #2

Break up (noun)The act or an instance of breaking up, as a division, dispersal, or disintegration. The discontinuance of a relationship, as a marriage or a friendship. The cracking and shifting of ice in rivers or harbors during the spring. A loss of control or composure. In the north it is also the time when logging grinds to a halt because transportation becomes difficult or impossible due to the roads turning to a quagmire of muck that surrounds pot holes large enough to hide your obnoxious fat Auntie in.

hmmmm....yup that sounds about right, well all except the discontuance of a relationship. For those of us that live in the "bush" it also means being stuck in the "bush" as roads wash out or the bottom falls out of them completely making them impassable for motor vehicles. Being cabin bound with even the dearest of companions 24/7, well 22/7 can put a real strain on a relationship. After about 2 weeks you get that crampy feeling in your jaws from trying to force your gritted teeth into the semblance of a loving smile. This is usually not successful and does not fool your loved one as you end up looking like a somewhat mad, protein deprived social worker (the kind that make you sit in circles clutching a feather and sharing your inner feelings). This look is NOT conducive to long romantic struggles through the slop your front yard has become.

However, the slop the front yard has become does force closer companionship on you as a loving couple. Hand holding, hand tugging and indeed full body heaving is often needed during these strolls when you become stuck in the slop to the very top of your gumboots. Ahhhh...I hear snickers from the gentle southern readers!!! Snicker not oh uninformed and breakup virgin types. I can assure you that gum boot stickage is no laughing matter. Imagine if you will the gentle blankets of snow that Mother Nature has tucked the north under all winter long. This seamless deep expanse of pristine beauty has retreated shyly with the coming spring. The merry sunbeams of March have gently tickled out buried treasure. Now allow your mind to summon up what treasure this may be in the middle of a remote Rez. For Mother Natures creatures share this wondrous space with us; pack dogs, sled dogs, dog dogs, the rare and incredibly tough feral cat and of course there is the left over bounty of the winter buffet. Moose bones, carcasses from pelt animals the dogs did not get to, oil cans, old chains from saws, burnt rice pots, the list is long and I am hesitant to continue this recitation of treasure as I do not want to arouse that most ugly of emotion, envy, in the southern readers soul.

This is not a landscape you want to navigate in one gum boot and one wool sock! Well, not unless your tetanus shots are up-to-date and you are blessed with incredibly weak or none existent squeam genetics. So I must stand on record (or any other handy object that will allow me to get to the woodshed without actually touching the ground) and declare that a northern break-up does not meet the definition the handy dictionary gives us. It cements relationships, sometimes to the point of a intervention with a bucket of water to wash the muck off. It allows us to trust and reachout for our partners and friends. Finally it allows us to become "bushed" and so explore our "mad-as-a-sack-of-badgers" inner northern soul. I am going to brave the muck and head for a cuppa at the nice white lady teacher's house. The Elders say she is getting a bit odd and has been muttering to herself and won't open the door to anyone. On that note "bushed" will be the topic for my Breakup Reflections later in the week.