A few lessons for a California girl

"That which does not kill us
makes us stronger" -- Friedrich Nietzsche

So this winter has definitely been a learning experience for me, having a) never lived in a cold climate and b) never known any families with more than two kids while I was growing up. Here are some things I've learned in the last few weeks:

1) Snow must be shoveled off of the driveway and front walk as soon as possible after a snowfall. Here in Boulder anyway, the snow comes down very light and fluffy (famous Colorado powder) and is relatively easy to clear when fresh. But walk or drive over it a few times, and the trodden parts compact and get heavy, and then the temperatures warm up and the compacted snow turns to ice. The front of our house faces North, so that ice will continue to thaw and freeze, forming an inches-thick, Zamboni- slick, injury- and lawsuit-attracting ice rink until it is chipped away.

2) The driveway has to be cleared AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. It's no good to, say, go out a 7am and clear just enough to get one car out so as to take kids to school in the morning, then try to clear the rest in the late morning. By then the temperature gets up in the 40s, and even the snow that has not been mechanically compacted gets very heavy and sticky and takes a lot more effort to move.

3) The depth of snow that falls at 362 Hawthorn in Boulder seems to be dependent on several factors: a) how long of a business trip Jason is on, b) how many children in the household are ill on that given day and c) how many children, for whatever reason, need extra attention on that day but must be left under the watchful eye of the TV while said shoveling is accomplished since no other adults are present to help. Bonus depth is added for school days, days when we are expecting nannies or housekeepers to show up and need parking or access to the front door, days when trash cans need to be brought in and milk is delivered, and days when all three kids are coughing and boogery, and one also has a very messy intestinal flu as well.

4) The number of sick children in the house also appears to be directly correlated with the timing of Jason's business trips as well as with Jeanne's sleep deprivation level, the arrival of snow and the inability of nannies to come to help out because they have caught colds from the kids.

5) Pictures of people shoveling snow are usually taken on weekends when everyone's happy and having fun and it's kind of a game. Pictures don't get taken when all of the factors in the preceding points are in force all at the same time, and the shoveler is grumbling and bitter and stressed out.

Don't worry dear readers, all of this is behind us (for now, until the next business trip, I imagine) and the kids appear to be on the mend. I'm just very grateful that I did not contract any of the various viruses my kids were harboring, and that the snow did not affect Jason's ability to get back home to us. I should also acknowledge that Jason didn't have an easy week either - and he's letting me go out to see a movie all on my own tonight as reward for a rather tough ordeal.

I should also say that I am SO grateful for the new van - when all else was going awry, at least I didn't have to worry about being able to get out of the house and back.