Confession Time

I was working on a big pot of ham and bean soup on Tuesday when I looked out the kitchen window and noticed it was snowing. I suddenly realized that I was smiling. It was snowing - and I was smiling! We hadn't had any measurable snowfall for 3 days, and the fact that it was snowing again made me smile. It was gorgeous. We needed more snow. The snow garland that the Lord had created on our stockade fencing had fallen and left us with snow topiaries - just big round blobs of snow atop the fence posts on one side of the yard. 

My attitude about snow when I was a kid growing up in Wisconsin was probably typical. It excited me. Snow brought opportunities to go sledding down our steep hill across the road in the cow pasture. That was always fun - except for the time I was almost killed on George Krueger's brand new sled. That wasn't fun at all and may have contributed to my current back troubles. Snow was also exciting because it brought the possibility of a school snow day. Those were always a nice gift. 

Now, on to my confession. Somewhere along the way, my attitude shifted and my enthusiasm for the white stuff waned. By the time I was widowed and living back in Saginaw, I confess that I actually hated to see snow falling. I always thought it was beautiful, but dealing with it was a problem. As a single woman with a bad back, the thought of having to deal with snow removal before and/or after work was sometimes overwhelming to me. Friends and neighbors often helped out when we had larger snowstorms, but it was usually my problem to worry about. I really began to dislike the sound of the snowplow, as I knew it was going to make a mess at the entrance to my driveway. If you didn't clean off your sidewalks in a timely manner in Saginaw, the mailman would hold your mail hostage at the post office. Arrggghh!

When Steve came along, he was a real blessing. He bought a snowblower and left it at my house, and he handled my snow issues from that point on. Saginaw doesn't get anywhere near the snowfall we get here, but there were times he would drive the 5.5 miles to my house before my mom left for work at night to clean out the driveway for her. He would then come back before she returned from work early in the morning to clean out the crusty pile left by the snowplow overnight. He would then go home to get his kids off to school and return later to finish up my driveway and sidewalks. Those acts of service were such a blessing to me! Now, in my "retirement" years, when I don't have to worry about clearing snow off my car to get to work, my love affair with snow has rekindled. When we're getting a real good dose of lake effect snow and the piles around the house are getting deeper and deeper, I smile. It gives me a cozy feeling - like I'm wrapped in a thick quilt - drinking cocoa - in front of a crackling fire.

We awoke to an clean blanket of snow on the ground this morning. As of yesterday, we had only 29" of snow in January. That's amazing - especially considering that the month is about half over and we had 126.5" in December. The forecast calls for a steady influx of new snow for the next two weeks, so our January total will improve. I'll continue to smile as the numbers grow larger and the ground is refreshed with new white blankets. I'll continue to look outside and appreciate the beauty around us. I'll continue to thank the Lord for a wonderful husband - my own personal "Snow Man-ager."

I can't finish up this post without sharing some snow photos. Here's a shot taken of the stop sign at the corner near our Calumet house back on January 3rd.

Here's a long shot of the same corner on January 8th.

Lastly, we have many beautiful old buildings here in Calumet. Here's a shot of our old fire station taken on January 7th.

All is well in the Keweenaw.