Even though we live surrounded by the mountains, we don't get a lot of snow here. We used to when I was younger, but now years go by and the "big" snow of the year is a couple inches in late February or March. In fact, we have a rule that Justin has to take off a snow day, even if he could get to work, just so he won't miss out on the likely one chance to take the kids sledding.
You can understand then that we now have the attitude of "I'll believe it when I see it" regarding deep snowfalls. And, you can really understand then our shock when it DID snow.
You can understand then that we now have the attitude of "I'll believe it when I see it" regarding deep snowfalls. And, you can really understand then our shock when it DID snow.
It is funny. We woke up early Saturday to Whiskey, our chocolate lab, howling for some unknown reason. Then the boys got up and came into our room early. Bouncing on the bed, watching cartoons, snuggling.
In pajamas, about 8am I wandered out onto the front and back porches to snap some photos of the snow.
By the time I got back inside, Shannon was done with his cereal and Tristan wasn't far behind. By the time I got to the bedroom, Shannon was in his snowsuit, demanding to go sledding. Like, RIGHT NOW!!! Uh .. no. Mama needs a few moments in the morning. Sledding at 8am isn't on the agenda.
By 9am we were outside. Agendas were clashing. Shannon was determined to head up the street to Salem's Municipal Golf Course -- local mecca for sledding. Tristan was happy about the snow until he found out it was waist deep on him and, while walking is hard, turning around is near impossible. Justin already had the shovel in hand and was beginning to shovel the walk. I had photographer-giddiness and wanted snow shots.
~Top to bottom: Shannon happy about the snow & eyeing the sled; Tristan still happy about the snow, but waist-deep in it; Justin, beginning the "dig-out" ---- agendas are clashing!~Photography won out. Or maybe the saying is just true: "if Mama ain't happy, ain't no-one happy." The kids were playing in the yard while I wandered up the street a bit for photos and Justin dug. Then the whining started. So, we decided to walk down to Main St. to check things out.
By the time we got back it was close to lunch time and Justin and I were beginning to be at each other's throats. Tristan had to be carried back part of the way, Shannon was still unhappy that we hadn't gone sledding. An impromptu snowball fight did break out, but tears ensued when Tristan got snow on his face and couldn't comprehend that you just can NOT wipe snow off of your face with a snowy glove, no matter how many times you wipe.
The last time it snowed like this, I was in my freshman year of college. This house was still my mother's, and some friends and I came home to crash here and play. Things have changed.
Now, the walks need to be shoveled. The dogs have to considered: Whiskey went out in the snow just fine, but Jomo (who is much bigger than Whiskey) was too scared to go out (he's scared of everything). And then there were the chickens to think of. We covered their tractor before the snow started and had to dig it out and uncover it after the snow stopped. They can handle the cold, but they need a dry place to hang out. And, all the while, we were trying to deal with kids still too young to truly understand all of the above .. AND we're trying to deal with our own agendas and trying to learn to work together to get things done, to communicate better. To not snap at each other. (Fair little note here - I had/have PMS too .. so that made me extra nice to deal with)
In all of this though, we are lucky. We are very, very lucky that these were our issues to deal with, our hassles, our irritants. Interstates around us are shut down. Back-ups 20 miles long. Hundreds and hundreds of people stuck in their cars, needing rescue.
Our electricity stayed on. We had a solid roof over our heads, a warm house, plenty of hot cocoa (made with my homemade hot cocoa mix recipe: http://mamataneyskitchen.blogspot.com/2008/10/homemade-hot-cocoa-mix.html), and the joy of each other, knowing we were all safe together.
Life is definitely different living on an urban homestead. We did get to sledding, but chores came first. And, our chickens even decided to lay two eggs for us today (remember - we got none in November & since 12/14 we've only gotten 1 every other day). Tonight, we're eating pasture-raised pork chops with rice cooked in homemade turkey stock, and Justin and I are drinking some of our homebrewed Back Porch Brown Ale. Not a bad end to the weekend.
1 comment:
Yep, the Big Snow is much more fun when you're younger, or at least nomore than college-age and not responsible for much besides yourself. Snows like this always remind us why we moved here from MN. Everything we did in the last 2 days, we'd be doing once a week up there. And we are just too old for all that....
Post a Comment