I’ll go ahead and state what most of you are probably thinking: Thank goodness the snow has melted and has anyone seen a snowplow?!

I know we have a lot of transplants here from points north of us and for whom snow is not a big deal but, I am not one of them. For me, snow equals fun at first, followed by depression. It brings back some troubling memories from a few winters in the Northeast.

We live on top of a pretty big hill at the end of a long gravel road. So, when it snows, we’re pretty much stuck in our house until the road gets scraped or the snow melts – whichever comes first. Let’s just say it took a few days for the snow to melt, I’ll leave it at that.

At first, it was exciting. We built a fire in the wood stove and I didn’t go into work on a Friday. We turned the TV on, something we rarely do these days for fear of seeing one of the three D’s: death, disaster and dysfunction.

We tackled a few household chores that we’ve been avoiding, played a board game or two and just enjoyed some downtime with the family. Then, it was 10 a.m. and I was bored out of my mind. So we decided to take our new puppy out for a walk in the fresh snow.

After dressing our kids for the next 45 minutes it was time to hit the slopes of Polk County. I remember my four-year old saying as we’re leaving the house, “Dad, I can’t bend my knees.”

“Don’t worry, son,” I say, “the extra layers will help you when you’re sledding down our steep driveway and into the group of mailboxes at the base of the hill.”

Once we got outside, my depression quickly turned into jubilation. It was beautiful! There is something about the snow in the mountains. It was quiet and peaceful. After a few runs down the double-black-diamond hill on the sled, reality began setting in as my eight-year old started getting cold. I thought those cotton pants were waterproof.

We spent the rest of the day thawing out from our 20 minutes of snow-time and praying the power would stay on, and it did! I take back most of those things I’ve said about Duke Power.

All in all, it was a fabulous few days with those I hold most dear. A snowstorm and some missing snowplows reminded me of what’s most important – each other.

 

-Submitted by Michael Baughman