If you didn't already know (because you live far away, or are reading this years from now, or are a hermit) the East Coast was hit with quite a blizzard a few weeks ago. (I had to just stop and wonder if hermits read my blog. Or if they have wifi. Are you technically a hermit if you are on social media?? Okay, this should be a future post, back to my original point...). I actually started typing this blog entry because I had to take the subway home due to the aforementioned blizzard. 8 months pregnant and I sludged through the streets to take a crowded train home. It kind of sucked. I used to love snow, but no more. Which got me thinking about the pros and cons of snow, which led me to write it down...in my blog...and so, here I am.
So here are my thoughts on the illuminating topic of......snow. And I have a lot of thoughts on it, folks, so brace yourself because (Nerdy Game of Thrones reference alert!) Winter is Coming.
It's been a few weeks since the blizzard, but I'm still pregnant and still somehow surrounded by snow which led to a scary incident last night. We are in PA for the week and yesterday what we thought would be a 'light dusting of flurries' turned into a couple of very slippery inches of icy snowfall. That's not in and of itself unusual, after all we ARE in the mountains, but what WAS unusual was that our vehicle was struggling. Like, a lot. Just to move at all. It smelled like we were burning some serious rubber, until it stopped. Not the struggling, but the car. Altogether. And filled with a noxious smoke. In the middle of a narrow road. Right before a crazy turn. On a steep hill. Clearly I'm writing in sentence fragments for effect.
And when I say "middle"- I mean it. When cars came barreling down that road and hit the turn, they could barely avoid us. Many of them skidded out and got stuck as well, although not for the same reasons as us. (Might be a transmission thing, with the snow just being an unfortunate coincidence). I'm not sure if I'm explaining it well, but the point is that it was scary. We actually had to call 911 and because of the storm being so bad nobody came right away. We were stuck there in the middle of the road as night fell and it became dark. And to top it all off we had the baby with us. Never mind the fact that I'm nine months pregnant. No heat in the car and it was 18° out. Like I said, scary. The cops never did come, and the tow truck that they called I had trouble with the road and turned around and left. No, what saved us last night wasn't the police or 911, it was the humanity of friendly neighbors. One kind couple with their own four-year-old son in the car offered to drive me and the baby home to warmth and safety (the man told us his wife and child were in the car...to ensure us he wasn't a murderer. And he wasn't. So that was good.) They were our first guardian angels of the night. Then another gentleman helped Carlos move the car to the side of the road and called a tow company. Then he let him keep warm in his own vehicle and stayed with him until the truck arrived. He was our other guardian angel when the supposed 'emergency crew' failed us. We are forever indebted to them all, and felt very blessed to have such kind generous people willing to help a little family that they didn't even know. I know it's cliche but it truly fits in this case- "Faith in humanity-restored!"
I know I'm rambling a bit here but what happened last night -the scary situation bringing out the best in people-reminded me of snow in general. (Warning-things are about to get philosophical) It's a strange thing, snow. It covers everything up and makes the world look clean and pure. No matter what neighborhood you're in, rich or poor, clean or filthy, freshly fallen snow is the great equalizer. It makes everything look new again. Temporarily at least. As much as I hate it for the dangers it poses, there's no denying it's beautiful. That's sort of like humanity isn't it? Very dangerous at times but it can also be very beautiful. Like a lot of things in life.
Take love, for instance. A beautiful thing-no doubt, but can be very, very dangerous. Even scary. Fear of loss, of betrayal, of unrequited feelings. Life without love would probably be less painful...but we still want it. And when it's fresh and clean, it's beautiful.
How was that for a digression???
Anyway, back to the snow. Again, I definitely have a love/hate thing going on with it. Like, I love how it looks when I'm not out IN it. Especially driving. Also, it turns all the cars white as well (actually that's due to the residue from salting the roads, but there would be no REASON to salt the roads without the snow so I'm claiming it as residual effect. Get it? Residual? *tap, tap* Is this thing on?) It's 'storybook-pretty' for a little while, but then...it starts to melt. And it becomes messy, and even ugly depending on where you are.
Looking out my window at the forest that is our backyard, my heart is happy knowing that the melting snow, though messy and muddy, is laying the foundation for new life, new growth. In a month or so, the buds will form on trees, chipmunks and squirrels with be racing around, deer will be grazing and it will be beautiful.
But not everywhere. In city streets and parking lots, snow plows will pile blackened snow into mounds that will linger for weeks, angering people as parking spots are being taken up. It will bring out the ugliness in people as they compete for shoveled spots.
Sanitation trucks will "forget" that certain inner city neighborhoods exist, and garbage will pile up, being revealed layer after layer with each warming day. (Side note-why are there always orange peels in snow on these days? Do more people eat oranges outside in snowstorms? Is that the blizzard fruit of choice? I'm just saying.) The delineation between the 'haves' and the 'have nots' will emerge and become more apparent than ever through the dirty slush and puddles.
And of course, there's the accidents. Not just car accidents but all the horror stories that emerge after a snowstorm that newscaster revel in. Older people stuck outside and freezing, homeless people falling victim to the elements, carbon monoxide tragedies, etc. This part is the ugliest of all.
Despite it all, children will glee in waking to a snow day, with the chance to have the day off from school to sled, make snowmen, or build one heck of a fort complete with a snowball arsenal. They won't watch the news or drive a car on a slippery road or fight over a shoveled parking spot. They'll just run inside with their cheeks flushed and their tastebuds and bellies waiting for that hot cocoa.
And it will be beautiful again.
I have a love/hate relationship with snow.
