Snow: Good or Bad?

& OTHER VITAL SUBJECTS

I no longer press the "New Post" button on the Blogger Dashboard with the same freeness or frequency as I once did. That's a fact. Looking back, I am amazed by how much more rarely I undertake that nudge of the index finger. My blog used to be my LIFE! Now I'm a typical Bible school blogger: I post every couple of months. Or not. But I'm here now, anyway. And since I told myself I wouldn't indulge my habit of writing about how rarely I write, I will now cease to break my self-promises.

I actually did write a LOOOOONG post over Thanksgiving break: "A Day in the Life of a Bible School Student." I had fun writing it, and I think it could be interesting, but I lost my inspiration after writing for HOURS (don't worry, I'm a slow writer) and still having a number of paragraphs to go. I'll finish it later, but I decided recently that working on the same monolithic post forever and failing to actually PUBLISH anything was anything but productive.

There I go again. Writing about how I never write. It's an addiction, I tell you! On to something else:

This is a risky subject, because nearly everyone who still blogs at ALL and who lives in the glorious New England area has already said something about it. But risks are to be taken, and now is as good a time as any.

Snow. There is a LOT of it. So far, to my recollection, we've had three large snowstorms in New Hampshire. It may have been four or five, really, but certainly a minimum of three. And theses are no light dustings either. Mais non, mes amis: we're talking about the clouds dumping DECIMETERS at a time! Is this a good thing or a bad thing? That is the question.

The bad thing is that driving has been made far more difficult than it ever was last December (remember how we had no snow at ALL last December?). I've finished my shopping, fortunately, but not without my fair share of sliding about on the roads between stores. Right now I'm at Grandpa's, on the top of the famed Hill of Chestnuts, and that hill is not a hill for the light of heart right now. No sirree! It was all I could do to get to the top, and it was almost more than I could do to get up my grandfather's driveway! I actually had to get out and - get this - SHOVEL!

Speaking of driveways, my family's driveway is not really for the faint of heart right now either. Nor is it for the poor in driving skills, however stout the condition of their hearts may be. To successfully reach the S. abode, one must first back into the park across the road and then accelerate forward like Jehu. You see, a running start is unarguably necessary in order to reach the top of the first hill; one cannot get sufficient momentum turning into the driveway from the road.

EDIT: I managed it without using the park this morning, but LAST NIGHT it was impossible, and it still may be with some cars.

The rest of the operation is pretty straightforward: drive like Jehu the rest of the way, too. Once you get the hang of it, it's wicked fun. Some cars slide more than others, and those are the best, but even with AWD and snow tires it's great to have any excuse to drive in a manner that would be reckless any other time of year.

(This is not meant to imply that I am ever reckless. I am a cautious soul to the very core of my being.)

Snow also means shoveling. Lots of shoveling. And snowblowing. And leaky roofs. It is, in short, a maintenance nightmare, at least when so much comes at once. I was lucky in that I was sick for most of this last storm, which exempted me from manual labor, but now I'm on the mend and the snow's still coming down. Shoveling is starting to look like a part of life.

I must note here that I do not abhor shoveling, really. It's good exercise, and that means it's good for keeping warm despite the cold. It is also productive exercise, which I far prefer to "unproductive exercise": push-ups, treadmills... basically any exercise for exercise' sake. Shoveling, on the other hand builds your muscle and gets other stuff done at the same time. It's just hard to break the psychological barrier. You know, the voice that says, "You are warm and cozy inside. It's cold and uncozy outside. Cuddle up, be warm. Make yourself happy. That's it. You don't want to spoil the beauty of the undisturbed landscape, do you? So what if no one can get to your house? They should stay inside too; inside where it's warrrrrm, warrrrrrm, warrrrr...."

Yeah. That voice.

Now for the positive sides of the snow: beauty, Christmas spirit, and snowballs. That pretty much sums it up. No explanation needed.

Conclusion:
Snow is good. Snow is fun. Snow is beautiful. However, I believe we now have enough to last us until January at least. Meteorologists, take note.