Within a few hours, we, who are located on the east coast, are scheduled to be hit with the worst snow storm in history.
Usually, when there is a forecast for snow, the kids put a silver spoon under their pillows (and wear their pajamas backward) in supplication to the Gods of School Cancellings. This time, I don’t think they even need to bother. We’re expected to get WALLOPED with up to 3 feet of snow (depending on which news channel you follow.)
For us Granite staters, this is not as big a threat as it might be for those people living in a city. We’re kind of used to snow. We know that when the forecast predicts a serious winter storm, it’s time to stock up on candles, easily grillable items, and water. We move the snow shovels near the front door. We know to locate the stack of extra warm blankets and to make sure there is enough food in the house for the family and pets. We also dig out our favorite board and card games. The operative phrase is “hunker down.” We know what to do.
Not to be blasé, but we tend to have the attitude of “been there, done that.”
These days, my kids are older, they can, for the most, fend for themselves. That dread of having to change diaper after diaper without electricity, water or heat is over, now my kids see loss of power or confinement due to snow as a bit of an adventure. They are able to find their own wool socks and gloves. Age does have its advantages.
Those of us who are writers and who live with constant snow storms in the winter also know to locate the books we’ve had (forever) on our to-read list and put them in a pile near our reading chair (along with a book light and a heavy blanket.) We locate that notebook filled with ideas for a new project and place it alongside the book pile with a few pens ready for us to crack it open again – hello friend, nice to see you again. In essence, we prepare for our own writers’ Christmas morning, filled with expectation, new beginnings, and excitement. Bring it on.
Do we have concerns? Of course. Our house in under tall pines and if the winds predicted for Cape Cod somehow move east, we might be in trouble with falling limbs. We don’t have a generator, so if the electricity is off for an extended time (we’ve lost it in the past for up to seven days) we have to be concerned about frozen pipes. We know where to go for help, over the years, (especially when the kids were little) we’ve tended to be frequent fliers at the Red Cross emergency centers where we’ve taken showers and at times even found a warm place for a little one to take a nap. And, of course, there are the chickens that we need to be concerned about – we must make sure they have a constant (thawed) water supply.
But we’ll cross those bridges when we get to them. For now, we don’t know what will happen and we are “cautiously optimistic.” All we know for sure is that tomorrow is expected to be a snow day, an historic snow day, and like the child of my youth, I’ve got to admit, I’m looking forward to the excitement of it all.
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For those on the east coast, now is the time to truly hunker down and not travel those roads once the snow starts. Please remember to check on the welfare of neighbors and the elderly.
We’ll see you all on the other side.
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Wendy Thomas writes about the lessons learned while raising children and chickens in New Hampshire. Contact her at [email protected]
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