Dear Winter... Go Away!

Ok, I have been sort of avoiding doing this in a public forum, but I need to rant.  If you'd rather not hear me whine about winter, please do us both a favor, close the web browser and walk away.  We'll pretend it never happened, you can still like me and I can still like you, even if we happen to have opposing views on the Season of White.

I have had enough!  I am sick of snow!  I understand that plenty of people truly enjoy the brisk winter weather and being outside playing winter sports - I know lots of these people myself - but I am DONE with the seemingly never-ending snowfall.  I went ice skating the other week.  Loved it!  I've taken my son sledding with friends.  Fabulous!  I enjoy the occasional snowball fight and even getting some exercise with a bit of light shoveling and snowblowing.  But this??  This is just ridiculous!  C'mon, Old Man Winter... enough already!

My snowblower froze up.  This is, admittedly, partly my fault - it's sitting on my back patio uncovered, just waiting for the elements to take their toll.  Being mocked by the snow as it sits, helpless, under a coating of ice.  I do feel badly.  It's a pretty good blower, so far as I can tell.  It gets the job done, mostly.  I've tried to take care of it, keeping it full of gas, brushing it off everyday, leaving the back porch light on so it doesn't get lonely or scared out there all by itself.  But I guess that all wasn't good enough.  A couple days of a nice thaw, then the temperatures drop again and BAM!  Frozen snowblower. 

I'm lucky enough to know wonderful people who are willing to go out of their way to clean out the drive for me now and then.  Today was was one of those days, and when I came home from work at 6:00 with 3 kids in the car, I was extremely thankful.  Still, the plow had gone down the street a few times, I guessed, and there was the makings of a fortress wall at the end of my driveway.  So I got all the kids out, hauled them all inside, and turned right around to tear down the barrier.  My oldest actually likes to shovel snow, and wanted to help.  So he grabbed the shovel and attempted to clear off the front porch steps while I went around to the back.  Using the kid's shovel I had stashed on the back porch, and with equal parts of cursing at and feeling sorry for the frozen snowblower, I started to dig.  I dug out the steps, the trash cans, and the snowblower.  At this point, I realized my fingers were beginning to go numb.  And I wasn't going to get much further with a 2-foot long shovel, so I went back around front to check on my assistant.  No assistant on the front porch.  I approached the front door and noticed him standing inside, sobbing a bit.  When I asked what was wrong, he told me he couldn't do it.  He had tried shoveling the front walkway but every time he threw the snow on the bank, more snow fell back down.  And he slipped and fell in a snowbank, and he was cold.  My 9-year-old couldn't throw the snow high enough onto the banks!!  That's how high they already are!  RIDICULOUS!!  I thanked him for trying and reassured him that he did a great job.  Back outside I went.

I shoveled out the front walkway quickly, heaving the snow as far away as I could.  Luckily, it was mostly light, fluffy snow.  I did one swipe down the sidewalk (my apologies to the neighborhood mail carriers), then tackled the fortress wall head on.  This was heavier snow.  This was dirty, wet, plow snow.  And the snowbanks on either side of my driveway are now just a smidge taller than I am.  I have to throw this heavy, wet, slushy snow up over my head?!  AAARRRGGGHHH!!  Had to be done, otherwise my van would be sitting in the street with the hazards on all night.  At times, I couldn't keep my footing stable and kept slipping.  The wind blew just right and laughed as most of the snow I was throwing flew back in my face.  I couldn't feel my fingers and my hands were starting to burn with pain from the cold.  This sucked!

It took about half an hour, but I won the battle.  I managed to get the end of the drive clean enough to pull the van in and not get stuck.  I was cursing at Old Man Winter, Mother Nature, the snow, the wind, the cold temperatures... anything remotely related to winter, I was cursing at it in my head.  Finally, I had finished and could go inside to thaw out and enjoy my kids.

I'm going to a hockey game this weekend.  I plan on going snowshoeing with my son's 4th grade class field trip in a week or two.  I want to take all my kids ice skating a few times while they're on winter break.  I'd like to get some friends together to go sledding again.  These things are all fine and good.  It's the driving, scraping, cleaning, shoveling, and snowblowing that I am totally through with.  Take away those things, and I'm good with winter for another couple months.  Well, ok... that might be pushing it a little.  The novelty of the snow has completely worn off.  I miss the sun.  I miss 50 degree temps.  I miss being able to walk out the door spontaneously without putting on multiple layers.  I miss having a place by the curb to put my trash cans.  I miss being able to see my yard, my birdfeeders and the bottom half of my neighbor's house.  Sick, sick, sick of snow!!

I know... I live in Central New York and no amount of cursing, wishful thinking, voodoo dances or Gregorian chants will change the weather.  I have to either get out or deal with it.  I tried to embrace it, and I did for a while.  But my boundaries have been pushed and my tolerance exhausted.  If you've read all this way, please don't think differently of me due to my opinionated distaste of winter.  If you enjoy wintertime activities, please don't be offended by my rants.  I really did try to be its friend.  I know it has it's good qualities, and I can appreciate those.  At times, I really do enjoy it's company.  But it's beginning to overstay it's welcome, and it just needs to go away.  Or at least lighten up. 

Frozen Cheers!