Last weekend, as my family was getting ready to head home after a visit, the snow began to fall in earnest. It was pretty, but it just didn’t stop.
That was Sunday.
On Monday, I spent 6 hours shoveling out the driveway. I tried to clear a path for Jim to leave and while his 4 wheel drive car got him down the driveway and to the street, it wouldn’t have been enough to get him out of the unplowed parking lot at his office. So, he turned around and came home.
I eventually got the rest of the driveway clear and thought I would be ready to go into work the next day. Classes were canceled that Tuesday but the campus was open. I got out the shoveled driveway and about 10 feet down our unplowed street before I got stuck. With a shovel and a lot of swearing, I managed to get back in the driveway and out of the way – but I wasn’t going anywhere. I worked from home that day.
The plows finally got to our street and it was sort of clear and on Wednesday I tried again. I got to work, but it wasn’t a quiet ride. The skidplate/undershield under my car – already not in good shape – had been obliterated by my attempt to get unstuck and was now dragging on the ground. When I got home after work I was able to get partly under the car and got it partly bent back up, but it was a lost cause. I worked from home the rest of the week.
This past weekend, more snow. I was out shoveling again for a few hours – trying to keep up – and the best I can say is that it wasn’t as heavy. The piles of snow were getting so big I was running out of places to fling it.
I worked from home again today and afterwards I was out again with my shovel. I was almost done with the driveway cleared again and saw my neighbor across the street shoveling.
He’s 80.
I hustled over there with my shovel and got the bulk of it for him. He slowed down and chatted while I shoveled and we got it done soon.
And as I was wrapping up my driveway again for what seemed like the thousandth time, I stopped and leaned on my shovel and looked up at the sky as dusk began to settle in.
For all the work – and it’s been a ton of work – it really is quite beautiful out there.
I was reminded of another snowfall – many years ago.
Jeff and I had just moved in together and it was our first winter in the apartment. We didn’t know the area well yet and decided after the first big snow of the year to go for a walk down the unplowed streets. This was out away from the city and the only light was from a full moon. The snow muted all the noises and while it was cold, there was no wind to make it intolerable.
We walked maybe a mile down this quiet road, marveling at the crisp air and a sky full of stars. It was incredibly peaceful.
Something broke the spell – I don’t recall what. Maybe we got cold or realized how far we had walked. Perhaps there was a car or maybe the wind picked up. In any case, it was time to walk back home.
We didn’t walk much and never went again in the winter. And enough time has passed that my memories are fading, as they do.
But, standing in my driveway looking up at the cold sky, I remembered a happy time. And it was enough.
When that spell was broken, I went inside to check on the dogs and have my dinner. And wait for my husband to come home.
From winter to winter.
Feeling the weight of the years tonight.