But then... the forecast started to go up. Soon they were saying 6 inches, then 8, then 10. Curiously, as the predictions went up, my longing for spring started to fade a bit. Suddenly I wasn't bemoaning having to "deal with" 4 inches of snow... I was reveling in the possibility of being snowed in!
We ended up with about a foot of snow, and as I was outside this morning getting some much needed exercise by shoveling the driveway, I was amazed at how much I was enjoying the whole event.
Hmmm... is it just me, or does this seem a tad bit paradoxical? A little bit of snow is a major PITA (pain in the arse) but a huge storm is great fun!
Perhaps it's a question of expectations. I mean, if it snows just a little bit, I figure that we're all expected to just go about our normal business with a small added inconvenience. On the other hand, if there's a major blizzard all bets are off! Nobody expects you to go anywhere, or do anything meaningful... you're just allowed to kick back, relax and enjoy the weather.
Now, I don't think of myself as a person who is unduly influenced by the expectations that others might hold of me... and it's not like my "regular schedule" is terribly taxing. I don't have to drive to a job, or get kids to school, or do any of the myriad of other things that could be complicated by winter weather.
Furthermore, since I work at home on the computer, unless there's a power outage, there's nothing stopping me from working even if there were 3 feet of snow on the ground! So why the big difference in my reaction to a little vs a lot of snow?
Maybe it has to do with my own expectations of myself. If I sit back and do nothing just because that's what I feel like doing, some part of me still thinks I'm being lazy.
But if the news is saying "stay home and relax" and I feel like "everybody else" is taking it easy because of the weather, then I somehow give myself permission to do what I wanted to do anyway.
I suppose it could be leftover emotions from childhood... SNOW DAY!!! It's amazing how deep those things are embedded.
Well anyhow, the snow was great fun, and I'm actually starting to enjoy this winter a bit, rather than just cursing it.
So I'm curious... does anybody else out there experience this crazy snow paradox?
I'm always hopeful for a 'snow day', however much or little is forecast, so I am usually egging the snow on and getting excited.
ReplyDeleteWe're much more wimpy about snow here though, and a surprisingly small amount can bring everything to a standstill!
That's the bummer about living in a snow prone location... it takes a LOT of snow for things to really shut down. Last time I remember it really closing down the city was when we got 3 feet back in 2003.
DeleteThe good thing about Denver is that, like today, usually it's bright and sunny after a big storm and it all melts pretty quickly.
Although we did get two storms about a week apart in 2006 right around Christmas time... it was cold and dark and for some reason they elected not to plow the side streets, so these giant ice ruts formed, and it was February before things were really passable again. I was REALLY thankful to live walking distance from the grocery store during that one!
I feel exactly the same way you do about a snow storm. When they are big enough to disrupt the normal flow of things, I kind of look forward to them. It's like the weather makes all the decisions for you and you don't have to decide what's the most important thing to do.
ReplyDeleteOf course, that's only fun if you don't lose electricity, have to work in the snow, or some other similar difficultly. My father was a lineman and had to be out in the very cold weather climbing poles to fix people's electricity. I don't think he looked forward to snow storms.
" It's like the weather makes all the decisions for you..." I think you nailed it right there.
DeleteBut I totally agree, if my job was to be out in it freezing my arse off, I think the fun would wear off pretty darned quickly!
When I lived in a mobile home here I looked forward to the larger amounts of snow. It meant that the snow would insulate the area where the skirting was to prevent frozen pipes and provide warmer floors. With less snow if we had high winds, which is frequent, it would mean having to go out in the cold to reset the skirting, so more was better.
ReplyDeleteWe don't really get snow days around here as it takes a lot to cancel anything so that's rarely an issue, the few times schools were canceled I was able to call off work as I worked in the city and people there thought our area (known as the snow belt) was too much for them to handle and were usually shocked when I arrived after a large storm.
I'm more like you when it comes to rain. A little is a pain because I can't get outside to do what I want, but a pouring rain means I probably won't have company till it's over and I find myself curling up with a book and listening to the rain/thunder storm.
Snow is an amazing insulator isn't it? When I've had winter spinach in the garden, the only times I had to give it additional cover was when it would get really cold with no snow to help keep in the heat. Unfortunately, this year was soooo dry that all of my winter spinach died early on. Sigh.
DeleteWoe is me, I've never seen snow! But now that you've said it, I do feel better about lazying around during heavy thunderstorms. Isn't it annoying how the notion that we must me "productive" is so rooted within us that we can't enjoy a lazy day without feeling guilty?
ReplyDeleteWow.... never seen snow. I'm trying to fathom that. So many of my childhood memories involved sledding, or building snowmen, or skiing, or just playing outside in the snow - it's kind of hard to imagine having never seen it!
DeleteI totally agree that the whole notion of "productivity" is crazy. When I lived in Norway (which was nearly 30 years ago at this point) there was sooooo much less of the crazy Puritan work ethic than we have here... and it's soooo much worse here now than it was 30 years ago!
I wonder how it compares in other places throughout the globe. I'm sure our crazy American work habits are infiltrating other cultures, but still, when a friend from Norway came to visit a few years back he was totally shocked by the schedules that most Americans keep.
The snow is a pain to get around in if you need to commute or run errands - especially when streets are slick and dangerous. I do love a big blizzard when I don't have to be anywhere, and I like snow when it's still clean and fresh. It would be perfect if the big snows melted away after a day or so.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree... I feel so fortunate not to have to commute anymore. I went to school in upstate NY and snow there felt completely different to me than it does here in sunny Colorado. It was like it drizzled snow all winter and we spent months in the gray slushy muck. We had more snow yesterday, but the sun is shining again, and the streets are all totally clear now. Even the alley is more than half way melted off. Oh how I love the sun!
DeleteI've never had to deal with snow but we get some crazy rain storms and flooding here. I hope the storm clears up soon :)
ReplyDeleteThanks EK - we get crazy rain in the springtime too... my mom used to call them "frog stranglers!" Colorado kinda specializes in weather extremes it seems!
DeleteBut the snow is nearly all melted now. We're expecting a light dusting tonight, but nothing to write home about. Hoping the bike path has melted off!!
I feel the same way - if school's closed, I'm golden! I try to shovel it early in the day so I can be as lazy as possible for the rest :)
ReplyDeleteI fear I'm not much of a morning person, but I do try to get the shoveling done sooner rather than later because then the sun can do it's work and keep the ice from forming.
DeleteThings have gotten really "neighborly" on my block lately, which is a lovely turn of events. I actually kinda like shoveling snow, so when there's a storm I tend to shovel the sidewalk for 3-4 houses on either side of me.
Well... this time I was a bit late getting out there, and someone returned the favor this time. By the time I got out there somebody had given the whole block a once over. Since it was still snowing when I did my first round of shoveling, I took 5 extra minutes and went up and down the block clearing the few inches that had fallen since the good samaritan did their work.
I really hope it keeps up, because it's soooo nice to have the whole block clear for pedestrians, plus it just gives me a nice warm fuzzy!
I love the snow. It slow's the world down and makes it look pretty! The wrlds a better place when it snows!
ReplyDelete"It slow's the world down and makes it look pretty!" Wonderfully put!
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