I spend a good four months of the year shivering under layers of clothes with a desperate eye on the forecast for the first signs of spring.

Skating, skiing and other winter sports, to me, are not fun activities, but an effort to make the best of a bad situation.

Snow is pretty around the holidays, but it tends to lose its lustre around Jan. 2.

Now I have a new reason to hate winter. Ever try to navigate a stroller on a snowy, icy sidewalk? It’s no walk in the park. It’s a frustrating, exhausting and sweat-soaked exercise on the best of days. It’s downright impossible on the worst of days.

I have a great stroller, a Bugaboo Frog with giant rear tires that can roll over curbs, down steps and through puddles. But I’m left spinning my wheels when the snow flies. Until Hummer comes out with a stroller with studded snow tires, I’m not sure any baby vehicle is well suited for the winter weather.

I could stay indoors and hibernate until spring, but dogs need to be walked, errands need to be run and babies need fresh air and a change of scenery. So do their mothers.

Over the past three months, I’ve picked a few techniques for navigating snow-covered sidewalks:

-      The Battering Ram – Lower your head and run full speed into the drift, generating enough power to blast the stroller through the snow pile.

-      The Iditarod – Hold onto the stroller and the leash of one excitable Golden Retriever as the dog scrambles over the snow and ice, dragging you with her.

-      The Clean and Jerk – When sidewalks are simply too impassable, pick up the stroller, baby and all, and carry it. Passersby will stare at your red-faced grunting. Ignore them. A mother has got to do what a mother has got to do.

Homeowners in the city of Toronto must clear their sidewalks within 12 hours of a snowfall or face a possible $105 fine. But a recent media report found city bylaw officers handed out just 383 charges last year and issued about 3,500 warnings for snowy walks. Instead, the city relies on residents “to be a good neighbour,” according to its website.

There are a few not-so-good neighbours on my block. Some stretches of sidewalk haven’t been cleared since Christmas. Winter boots have forged a path, but the way is an icy, rutted mess. (I should note there are some wonderful neighbours on my tiny street who are quick clear their walks as well as my own).

Shovelling is no treat. It’s a pain in the neck, the butt and parts in between. After a long day of work and an even longer commute home through a messy rush hour, the last thing anyone wants to do is spend an evening digging out their sidewalk.

But the few minutes spent with a shovel will earn a season’s worth of gratitude from the mom down the street. Remember when cartoonist Ben Wicks implored Toronto residents to “be nice, clear your ice” in 1980s public service announcements? A mother, maybe even your own, will thank you.

-- Sarah Green