Josh with his snowmanYup, the kids are home once again. We are up to SNOW DAY #8 for the year. June 4 will be the last day of school.... for now. That might not sound bad, except we started around August 12th, so it seems a two month summer break might be where we are headed.
The boys went to school on Monday since they were able to restore power to all of the schools, but as of yesterday there are still nearly 300,000 people in the state without power. We have been the lucky ones. I can't complain about not having school recently. It really has been a mess.
We had another snow storm arrive yesterday that dumped 4 1/2 inches of snow. While that might not sound like a lot in other places, there is still ice on the roads from last week and the new snow made the roads VERY slick. Yesterday the school called around 11 AM informing us they were letting school out an hour early. They have done this before in hopes of getting kids home and buses back before it got worse. The girls and I piled in the van at 1:30 and drove to the school to get the crew (my 3 and 2 neighbor boys) and found that the pickup line went for about a mile wrapping around the park below the school. Thirty-five minutes later we finally got the boys out of the cold. It was a mess. I saw 2 cars (one was a AAA truck) almost crash into a light pole near out house and saw one fender bender in front of the school. The roads were very slippery.
After I got the boys, we had to get Trey to his piano lesson. I had called his teacher and moved up his lesson from 3 to 2 PM, but had to call his teacher at 2 PM when I was still waiting to pick up the boys from school. We managed to get to her house with only sliding partway through one stop sign. The main roads were fine. It's the side roads that are scary. They do not plow them or pretreat them with salt or sand so you just have to go slow and give yourself ample time to stop and hope that you can. Trey's piano teacher had their huge tree in the front yard break into pieces under the weight of the snow and ice. Her husband had just moved their cars out of harms way before it came crashing down. It was sad to see just a large stump left in their front yard and know all the hours of time it must have taken to cut the tree into the small pieces that were in piles in their front yard.
Rich had a rough time getting home last night in my dad's old car. It is rotten in the snow and it was still snowing when he came home around 7 PM. The wind was bitter cold (actual temp was 10 degrees, but the wind chill made it much, much colder) and he had to dig his car out after he did not park in the covered parking lot. The storm took us a bit by surprise since they predicted snow, but they thought it would arrive on Monday. Rich laughed when got home and saw I was out grilling. I bet we were the only ones in Lexington that ate flame broiled hot dogs and hamburgers last night.
I decided to shovel the walks before it got dark and while the girls played inside with their brothers. We have a northern exposure so if we don't get the snow and ice up when it is fresh, we will be stuck with a dangerous driveway for weeks since the sun never hits it. I had to laugh when my neighbor, who had been told by his wife to take out their 2 year old daughter for a few minutes to explore while she finished dinner, came over and asked me if I shoveled a lot of snow as a child. I thought it was a funny question, but made sense since I think every time he has seen me outside over the past week, I was either whacking at ice with the garden shovel or scraping snow off the ground. I told him yes and that my parents had a very long driveway making my very short and small driveway seem like a breeze.
After he left, I kept pondering his question. In fact I rather enjoyed thinking about it. I thought about all my memories outside, bundled up shoveling snow with my family. While I can't remember much about shoveling our homes in Salt Lake, I do remember my lovely blue snow coat and awesome moon boots that kept my toes toasty and warm. Though you had walk with caution and be careful when stepping into large snow piles because you could pull out the liner and leave your boot stuck in the snow.
I recalled our first house on Apple Blossom which was a corner lot. If we had to do the sidewalks that would have taken ages. The driveway was a bit steep and there were a set of large, wide, flat steps leading up to the front door in between the lawn and some bushes. When large storms would come (which seemed to be often back then) the snow plow would push the snow into a gigantic mound on the corner. That pile would last until spring. We would dig and build and make amazing snow forts. We loved it. I loved playing outside in the snow with my brothers. We had wonderful snow clothes and gloves since we went skiing every other week so we didn't need to stop for breaks as often as my boys do as they freeze outside in their frozen jeans and wimpy stretchy gloves.
When we moved to our new house up the street it was a whole different level of snow piles and shoveling. Our house is located across the street from our church. When they would plow the parking lot they would make literal mountains of snow in front of our house. They were amazing and we had so much fun playing on those things. We also had fun in the backyard building snow forts and one year made a real igloo you could fit inside. My parents made a rule that you could not be inside in alone in case it collapsed. It was quite the structure and I was so proud of what we had accomplished.
As for the shoveling, the new driveway was long, wide and there were 2 pathways to the door plus a deck out back and the sidewalks in front. My mom was a stickler when it came to how to shovel. We got it out of every corner, space and crack. Often the snow that fell was so heavy I thought I would break my back every time I lifted my shovel that was weighed down with snow. I remember dividing up the driveway into sections and racing my brothers to see who could finish first.
Not only did we remove the snow and build muscles, we learned how to work hard, not complain and be involved in a team. I think it brought us closer together. I was always SO relived when it was done, though that always took one thing. Time. Not only would we shovel the driveway, we would shovel out clear to the road since they never plow the roads in Salem. I think the most icy roads in Salem can be found in front of my parents home.
Here's a long story that proves this point, and one I never wrote down. When I was a senior in high school a massive storm hit the day of Recession (boys choice dance in January). Our group had plans to go skiing during the day. My date (who I will not name, but only went out with him this one time and truly dislike to this day.....) had me drive to Spanish Fork and meet the group at a church parking lot so we could head up to Alta. I remember the Tracker plowing through feet of snow as I inched toward the meeting place. This did not please me knowing he should have come and picked me up. After a fun day on the slopes with my girlfriends, my date had me drop off people in Salem and then arranged for a guy in the group that lived in Woodland Hills to pick me up and bring me to the dance. (Did I mention that I think my real date was a jerk? I digress.....) When the scheduled pick up time came there was a knock on the door and scared looking fella on my porch. His 10 passenger van just slid out of control on the icy roads in front of my house and was completely stuck. Truly. That thing wasn't going anywhere. I ended up driving HIM, picking up HIS date at her house and then made it to the high school. Let's say since I had my own car at the dance, I drove myself home early. Memories though. Memories. Oh and I think that van was there for a few days until they could finally pull it free.
Here's one more classic crazy icy Salem roads story happened around that same time. I was a senior and we had a victory dance at the high school. On the way home I dropped off my friend Erica Hunter at her house and drove the back roads to Salem. As I drove down Salem Canal Road alone on a dark cold night (long before the ages of cell phones....) I hit a slick spot and my car slid out of control to the right. Seconds later I was sideways in my little Tracker stuck in the middle of the canal. It was an unbelievable thing. Adrenaline kicked in and before you could count to three I had unbuckled, kicked the door open and climbed out of my little car and onto the icy road. In the distance was a lone house so I ran to the house, but as luck would have it, no one was home. A short time later there were headlights in the distance coming towards me and I flagged the woman down. She was driving alone, was from California and had NEVER driven in snow before. She could see my car in the canal and was beyond scared to keep driving. The whole thing was like a crazy dream. She gave me a ride to my parents home and I remember running upstairs and finding my mom alone and asleep in her bed (my dad was off at a delivery). I shook her awake and told her that I was fine, but that the Tracker was in the canal. She was awake VERY quickly, but was relived I was safe. The next morning we called a tow truck to fish out my car and it was quite funny when the massive truck spun out on the ice I hit and found itself unable to pull out my car until it moved to safer ground. The most remarkable thing was when he finally got the car out it was completely, 100 % unmarked and undamaged because of the deep snow that cushioned its fall. Very crazy indeed.
Anyway, as I shoveled my tiny driveway last night I enjoyed thinking about my wonderful family and how much I learned from being with them and I cherish the memories I will always have of our good times, crazy times and simply being able to recall bits of our life together. When it comes down to it, memories and knowledge are what we have in the end.
I appreciate that my mom taught me how to work hard, how to see projects through to the end, how to show love to others through service (service= hard work) and to enjoy the beauty of the different seasons and nature. I hope I can teach my children the same things.
Yes, Rhett (my youngest brother) might have it easy now that they have a heated driveway that when turned on melts the snow and can use the snow plow or 4 wheeler to get the pathways and sidewalks clear, but I know he and my dad have spent years shoveling the snow of various families they home teach and that my mom has taught him how to pitch in and work.
I wouldn't trade my years of shoveling for anything. I appreciate that I enjoy doing a bit of work and that I can take those life lessons and pass them on to my children. It proves you can find enjoyment in a shoveling a cold snowy driveway as long as you have the proper perspective and happy memories to warm your heart.
The boys went to school on Monday since they were able to restore power to all of the schools, but as of yesterday there are still nearly 300,000 people in the state without power. We have been the lucky ones. I can't complain about not having school recently. It really has been a mess.
We had another snow storm arrive yesterday that dumped 4 1/2 inches of snow. While that might not sound like a lot in other places, there is still ice on the roads from last week and the new snow made the roads VERY slick. Yesterday the school called around 11 AM informing us they were letting school out an hour early. They have done this before in hopes of getting kids home and buses back before it got worse. The girls and I piled in the van at 1:30 and drove to the school to get the crew (my 3 and 2 neighbor boys) and found that the pickup line went for about a mile wrapping around the park below the school. Thirty-five minutes later we finally got the boys out of the cold. It was a mess. I saw 2 cars (one was a AAA truck) almost crash into a light pole near out house and saw one fender bender in front of the school. The roads were very slippery.
After I got the boys, we had to get Trey to his piano lesson. I had called his teacher and moved up his lesson from 3 to 2 PM, but had to call his teacher at 2 PM when I was still waiting to pick up the boys from school. We managed to get to her house with only sliding partway through one stop sign. The main roads were fine. It's the side roads that are scary. They do not plow them or pretreat them with salt or sand so you just have to go slow and give yourself ample time to stop and hope that you can. Trey's piano teacher had their huge tree in the front yard break into pieces under the weight of the snow and ice. Her husband had just moved their cars out of harms way before it came crashing down. It was sad to see just a large stump left in their front yard and know all the hours of time it must have taken to cut the tree into the small pieces that were in piles in their front yard.
Rich had a rough time getting home last night in my dad's old car. It is rotten in the snow and it was still snowing when he came home around 7 PM. The wind was bitter cold (actual temp was 10 degrees, but the wind chill made it much, much colder) and he had to dig his car out after he did not park in the covered parking lot. The storm took us a bit by surprise since they predicted snow, but they thought it would arrive on Monday. Rich laughed when got home and saw I was out grilling. I bet we were the only ones in Lexington that ate flame broiled hot dogs and hamburgers last night.
I decided to shovel the walks before it got dark and while the girls played inside with their brothers. We have a northern exposure so if we don't get the snow and ice up when it is fresh, we will be stuck with a dangerous driveway for weeks since the sun never hits it. I had to laugh when my neighbor, who had been told by his wife to take out their 2 year old daughter for a few minutes to explore while she finished dinner, came over and asked me if I shoveled a lot of snow as a child. I thought it was a funny question, but made sense since I think every time he has seen me outside over the past week, I was either whacking at ice with the garden shovel or scraping snow off the ground. I told him yes and that my parents had a very long driveway making my very short and small driveway seem like a breeze.
After he left, I kept pondering his question. In fact I rather enjoyed thinking about it. I thought about all my memories outside, bundled up shoveling snow with my family. While I can't remember much about shoveling our homes in Salt Lake, I do remember my lovely blue snow coat and awesome moon boots that kept my toes toasty and warm. Though you had walk with caution and be careful when stepping into large snow piles because you could pull out the liner and leave your boot stuck in the snow.
I recalled our first house on Apple Blossom which was a corner lot. If we had to do the sidewalks that would have taken ages. The driveway was a bit steep and there were a set of large, wide, flat steps leading up to the front door in between the lawn and some bushes. When large storms would come (which seemed to be often back then) the snow plow would push the snow into a gigantic mound on the corner. That pile would last until spring. We would dig and build and make amazing snow forts. We loved it. I loved playing outside in the snow with my brothers. We had wonderful snow clothes and gloves since we went skiing every other week so we didn't need to stop for breaks as often as my boys do as they freeze outside in their frozen jeans and wimpy stretchy gloves.
When we moved to our new house up the street it was a whole different level of snow piles and shoveling. Our house is located across the street from our church. When they would plow the parking lot they would make literal mountains of snow in front of our house. They were amazing and we had so much fun playing on those things. We also had fun in the backyard building snow forts and one year made a real igloo you could fit inside. My parents made a rule that you could not be inside in alone in case it collapsed. It was quite the structure and I was so proud of what we had accomplished.
As for the shoveling, the new driveway was long, wide and there were 2 pathways to the door plus a deck out back and the sidewalks in front. My mom was a stickler when it came to how to shovel. We got it out of every corner, space and crack. Often the snow that fell was so heavy I thought I would break my back every time I lifted my shovel that was weighed down with snow. I remember dividing up the driveway into sections and racing my brothers to see who could finish first.
Not only did we remove the snow and build muscles, we learned how to work hard, not complain and be involved in a team. I think it brought us closer together. I was always SO relived when it was done, though that always took one thing. Time. Not only would we shovel the driveway, we would shovel out clear to the road since they never plow the roads in Salem. I think the most icy roads in Salem can be found in front of my parents home.
Here's a long story that proves this point, and one I never wrote down. When I was a senior in high school a massive storm hit the day of Recession (boys choice dance in January). Our group had plans to go skiing during the day. My date (who I will not name, but only went out with him this one time and truly dislike to this day.....) had me drive to Spanish Fork and meet the group at a church parking lot so we could head up to Alta. I remember the Tracker plowing through feet of snow as I inched toward the meeting place. This did not please me knowing he should have come and picked me up. After a fun day on the slopes with my girlfriends, my date had me drop off people in Salem and then arranged for a guy in the group that lived in Woodland Hills to pick me up and bring me to the dance. (Did I mention that I think my real date was a jerk? I digress.....) When the scheduled pick up time came there was a knock on the door and scared looking fella on my porch. His 10 passenger van just slid out of control on the icy roads in front of my house and was completely stuck. Truly. That thing wasn't going anywhere. I ended up driving HIM, picking up HIS date at her house and then made it to the high school. Let's say since I had my own car at the dance, I drove myself home early. Memories though. Memories. Oh and I think that van was there for a few days until they could finally pull it free.
Here's one more classic crazy icy Salem roads story happened around that same time. I was a senior and we had a victory dance at the high school. On the way home I dropped off my friend Erica Hunter at her house and drove the back roads to Salem. As I drove down Salem Canal Road alone on a dark cold night (long before the ages of cell phones....) I hit a slick spot and my car slid out of control to the right. Seconds later I was sideways in my little Tracker stuck in the middle of the canal. It was an unbelievable thing. Adrenaline kicked in and before you could count to three I had unbuckled, kicked the door open and climbed out of my little car and onto the icy road. In the distance was a lone house so I ran to the house, but as luck would have it, no one was home. A short time later there were headlights in the distance coming towards me and I flagged the woman down. She was driving alone, was from California and had NEVER driven in snow before. She could see my car in the canal and was beyond scared to keep driving. The whole thing was like a crazy dream. She gave me a ride to my parents home and I remember running upstairs and finding my mom alone and asleep in her bed (my dad was off at a delivery). I shook her awake and told her that I was fine, but that the Tracker was in the canal. She was awake VERY quickly, but was relived I was safe. The next morning we called a tow truck to fish out my car and it was quite funny when the massive truck spun out on the ice I hit and found itself unable to pull out my car until it moved to safer ground. The most remarkable thing was when he finally got the car out it was completely, 100 % unmarked and undamaged because of the deep snow that cushioned its fall. Very crazy indeed.
Anyway, as I shoveled my tiny driveway last night I enjoyed thinking about my wonderful family and how much I learned from being with them and I cherish the memories I will always have of our good times, crazy times and simply being able to recall bits of our life together. When it comes down to it, memories and knowledge are what we have in the end.
I appreciate that my mom taught me how to work hard, how to see projects through to the end, how to show love to others through service (service= hard work) and to enjoy the beauty of the different seasons and nature. I hope I can teach my children the same things.
Yes, Rhett (my youngest brother) might have it easy now that they have a heated driveway that when turned on melts the snow and can use the snow plow or 4 wheeler to get the pathways and sidewalks clear, but I know he and my dad have spent years shoveling the snow of various families they home teach and that my mom has taught him how to pitch in and work.
I wouldn't trade my years of shoveling for anything. I appreciate that I enjoy doing a bit of work and that I can take those life lessons and pass them on to my children. It proves you can find enjoyment in a shoveling a cold snowy driveway as long as you have the proper perspective and happy memories to warm your heart.
5 comments:
Great stories, Cheryl!
I remember when your tracker ended up in the canal. Crazy! I also remember the giant snow hills in front of the church. Those were the days!
I LOVE the pictures of the ice storm. It actually made me a little homesick for KY! There's something about the trees encased in ice that makes them look like crystal -- an effect you don't get with just snow.
But, oh the pains of the ice storms. I'm so glad you've had power, especially with so many snow days. I just hope you don't have to go to school until July!
Darn it.........that has got to be some kind of snow day world record!
Shoveling snow is one of my favorite things to do. I love it.
With how much snow you guys have had this year, you'd think people would just learn how to deal with it. I'd go nuts if school was canceled so many times. Not because of my kids being home, but because school would be out so much later in the year.
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