Our neck of the woods has been hit by more snow than usual this winter. While my northern friends are shaking their heads at our shock to wake up to 4 inches of snow, we Southerners are battling the elements as best we can- with a little help from Jack Daniels.
Not only are we armed with a good drink, but Southerners also have a fighting spirit that is not daunted by a little snow. Or, as it turns out, a lot of snow.
The latest measureable snowfall happened last night, and this morning Tara was covered with a beautiful blanket of white. After braving the 10 degree cold and taking my oldest daughter sledding at 7am, I came inside to find that Rhett was braving his own cold- the one you get from germs. While most of us would use the weather and a cold as excuses to stay inside, Rhett was ready to hit the shower and get out to the office. I wouldn't say Rhett is a work-a-holic, but he is a team player of the best kind. When someone else is at the office he is too, so he was determined to travel to work this morning.
But since Rhett had a cold, who was to clear the snow off of the drivway?
Did I mention that we don't have a plow? We don't have a snow shovel either. What we do have, since we are serial renovators, is a nice 2x6 piece of plywood.
I suited up, hiked back outside with my piece of plywood and started to plow by pulling the plywood down the driveway and then off to the slide afer every few feet. Our driveway is long and steep, and gripping the plywood eventually made my hands cramp and hurt so badly that I fear the magic of Kiehl's Hand Salve cannot possibly bring them back to their former state. I should add here that Rhett has done this before, and he was moaning about it for days.
I have learned snow gets very heavy and slippery after a while, so as I made progress on the driveway my task became harder. Did I mention that the plywood only scraped enough snow off the driveway for one tire tread? No, my husband doesn't drive a bicycle to work so I had to do the whole driveway twice. Somehow I don't think my body will miss my usual morning workout after the grueling duel of Scarlet v. Driveway.
As I worked my way down the driveway, I, like any war hero, began to have hallucinations. I dreamt of pina coladas on a secluded beach and J Crew Sample Sales just for me. But as I looked up at what I had accomplished, I saw that the rising sun had begun to melt the thin layer of snow left by my plywood tracks creating- could it be- a clear path down the driveway for Rhett.
My hard work paid off and Rhett was able to easily make it down Tara's driveway and out to the office. I wish I could say the same for the rest of our city, whose streets are still lined with cars from last night's terror of a rush hour. By the way, my arms and back feel pretty good- I may have to come up with an aerobics class involving snow as a resistance.
Until then, I am okay with missing my morning run today, and looking outside at our clear driveway tells me that I can probably hit the gym tomorrow. I will, however, keep dreaming of pina coladas and the J Crew sample sale.
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