CAN WINTER BE OVER YET?
Okay, January is a done
deal. Let's have winter over with already.
I've had enough snow, ice and cold to last until... well, until
next year.
I thought I had moved to a part of the country that had "mild"
winters, as in "little snow," "warmer than what you're used to
temperatures," and so on... get my drift?
Last week really tried my patience. We got hit with an Ice Storm.
The day before (Tuesday) I had gone out and spent two hours
shoveling off my concrete driveway so it wouldn't turn into a
skating rink.
Well, guess what? After the Ice Storm it truly became a
skating rink.
Then it had to snow on top of that. This isn't Wisconsin,
it's southern Ohio... where last year we had more rain than
snowflakes. Much more rain. Not to mention relatively warm winter
days... not like what you'd find in Arizona or Alabama, mind you,
but... tolerable.
The ice storm affected a lot of people from Arkansas to New
England and claimed several people's lives. I guess I was pretty
lucky that the power was out for only ten hours here on Wednesday.
But, believe me, ten hours without water and heat and not being
able to flush the toilets was long enough.
Fortunately, the night before, I'd gotten the message to store up
several gallons of tap water to keep on hand... just in case...
(THANK YOU, ETHAN!) and I ground up my organic Peruvian coffee
beans... (thanks, Marty, they're delicious, by the way). There was
plenty of food in the house and good insulation kept the indoor
temperature in the house from dropping below 65.
But I was sure a Happy Camper when, at 6:30 pm, the lights came
back on... along with the confused telephone in the bedroom trying
to tell me to re-program it. Every digital clock in the house
needed to be re-set, in fact. But I was GRATEFUL!
And talk about Computer Withdrawal... I had that pretty bad on
Wednesday. I had gone without checking e-mail almost 24 hours and
I survived! But just barely.
Actually, it was kind of fun not having power for a few hours. I
was amazed at the SILENCE in this house. I played the piano three
different times that day, just because it was something I could do
without having electricity. I buckled down and started editing my
book near the window with the most light. I talked on the
telephone to people I wouldn't ordinarily call.
But enough is enough. I'm tired of winter and I want spring to get
here. Bring on the ground hog!
I'm also ready for all this snow to melt and find its way to the
Ohio River so I can tidy up the lawn and get this place SOLD. I'm
moving to Colorado in the spring, whether I have a buyer for
Jackson Run or not.
Oh yes, I know Colorado has winter. And does it EVER have
winter... but at least I won't be alone anymore, and powder snow
is much more desirable than ICE STORMS and tumbling trees that can
come down on top of your car.
When my husband was alive, winter was actually kind of fun. We had
each other. Now that he's gone, it's a totally different scenario.
But I guess I had to experience it for myself. Now that I've been
there and done that... I'm ready for spring.
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT my new column at the Denver Examiner, where you can find articles on Relationship Transition.
To place your order for Ann's new book, THROUGHOUT ALL TIME, click here.
E-mail Ann to leave a comment.