I would first like to rescind my birthday wish for snow. Don’t get me wrong, if it’s winter there should be snow. It makes the cold bearable and everything seems brighter. But that’s only if I don’t have to shovel the darned stuff! We’ve already had more snow in January that we’ve had the last five winters combined!
Last Thursday, when I had to drive the hubby to Belleville (at 5 in the freaking a.m.), 45 minutes to the east of us, there was a tiny bit of snow. However, as I was waiting at the hospital, the daughter started texting me about how bad the snow was at home, and how highway 401 (the major, 4-lane highway) was closed at Cobourg. I looked out the window and didn’t worry – the snow was no worse than what we’d driven up in. Clearly the daughter was making a mountain out of a molehill.
Fast forward several hours to 12:30 when I was finally allowed to see the hubby. He was in good spirits and told me I should hit the road because he heard it was storming. I have to admit, it was snowing a little heavier when I went out, but I made a pit stop at the mall anyway because I wasn’t going to get another chance to shop until after the granddaughter’s birthday and I wanted to get her something nice, if not unique.
It was snowing a little heavier when I got to the mall, so I didn’t linger. I hadn’t had lunch yet, but I didn’t want to take the time to go to the food court, so I grabbed a bag of cheese popcorn from the Kernels kiosk to eat in the car.
In the city the snow wasn’t too bad. But once I got on the highway it was really, really bad. And the first thing I saw was one of those electronic signs that warned: Highway 401 closed in 58 kilometers. Be prepared to stop. Guess the daughter wasn't crazy after all.
Visibility was crap, the wind was strong, and the highway was snow covered, but I made it home – 2 ½ hours for what is normally a 45 minute drive. And what did I get to do once I got home? I got to shovel the darn stuff. And not just the driveway and sidewalk, but I had to shovel all the way to the back gate, through the gate and up the steps of the deck because I was bringing the hubby home the next day and he’d be using a walker.
Just an FYI, if you’re the slightest bit mobility challenged and you come to my house, you have to go through the back gate and come in through the deck. This has been a sore point for many years, but it’s a rant for another day. 😊
The next morning, at 5 a.m., I heard the sound every snow shoveller dreads – the sound of the snow plough. Those sadistic bastards that love to bury freshly shoveled driveways. However, I have the nicest neighbor in existence, and he cleared the end for me before I had to leave to pick up the hubby. Honestly? I’d planned to just back out over it. LOL
The snow we got Monday night was very pretty snow – big, fluffy flakes that drifted gently down. But it did accumulate, to the point where I had to shovel. I actually enjoyed it though. It was after dark and super cold, but the world was quiet and I more or less just had to push the snow with the shovel. It was almost relaxing.
The snow we got yesterday, however, was definitely not relaxing to shovel. We got over a foot of snow and I got to shovel it all at once (instead of clearing it a couple of times while the snowfall was in progress) because I spent my afternoon at the daughter’s sitting with the granddaughter, who not only had a snow day but an upset stomach as well.
And you know why we’re getting this excess of snow (which is actually what it used to be normally)? It’s because I’m the one who has to shovel, not the hubby. I guarantee you that next year, when he’s mobile again, we won’t get any snow at all.
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