Lessons We Learned in the Snow

Well it has been a hell of a snowy three days here.

I am tired from shoveling and taking an hour to clean off my car. Underneath the piles of snow on the car was a sheet of ice that I had to chip and melt so that I could get into the car. It seems that the EOS is a "high maintenance" car, not something the dealers tell you when you are buying it.

You have to make sure ALL the snow and ice are removed from the frame less windows so that the window will go down the 1/4" or so it needs to in order to get into the car. Any ice, and you are F-----d. You are either locked out or locked in.So I went to the store to get a scraper that I can carry in my book bag in the event I need to scrape ice off the window to get into the car. It doesn't work if the scraper is inside of a car you can't get into. Oh, and I bought a can of de-icer, and a pocket can for my purse. A girl can never be prepared enough.

Then I got stuck in an unplowed parking lot. I was alone, and after trying to rock the car out of the space, I had to get out and kick all the snow out from underneath the front tires, and behind them a bit. A man in a car wanted to leave the lot, and seemed pissed that I was stuck. Rather than help me rock it out, he B A R E L Y squeaked by, giving me a look. Just you wait Henry Higgins, just you wait. So I ventured out to the Auto Supply store to find a small folding shovel (no luck) and I am also going to put together a few tubs of sand/cat litter in the event that I need it on ice.

Alanna went outside for a while to play in the snow and found out how cold snow is when you get it in your socks, your pants, down you neck etc. She was quite hysterical as we pealed off her clothes in front of the fireplace. Still, I think it was fun--most of the time for her.

Tomorrow I wonder if we will have a two hour delay. The roads are horrid here, and if the wind kicks up, there will be some blowing and drifting. Secretly I want an entire day off to finish up my shopping, but would rather save the snow days till February and March, when we will need a few breaks here and there, and at a time that I can relax.

Christmas is going to change next year. Hate to be Scrooge about it, but it is out of control, and I have vowed to simplify. And I am so stressed from all the running around that I have to do, that I barely hear the carols, or see the lights in the trees. Mindfulness and Christmas are on opposite ends of the spectrum...but I want to try and have a Mindful Christmas next time.

Patti O Polar Cap