Surviving 40 Inches of Snow

I've learned a lot this week. You know, this week in which the D.C. area received 40 inches of snow. You know, this week in which my husband worked a total 1.5 days out of a possible 8 and I worked not once. You know, the time period of eight days in which I left the house in a car only twice.

One thing I learned about surviving this much snow is that, as much as possible, you have to keep up on the shoveling. Unless it all comes overnight, shoveling must be done every few hours. If you wait, it gets way too heavy and unmanageable. No one should ever have to lift the shovel four times just for one-shovel's-length of pavement. It's horrible.

And know what else about this much snow? There's no where to put it. Seriously. The piles around the sidewalks and driveway are over my head. I simply can't lift the snow (remember, this is an east coast storm with east coast heavy snow) that high. I was really frustrated when I learned this.


Another thing I learned is that proper clothing makes a world of difference. To stay warm and dry is the key to being able to stay outside for any long period of time. When you're dealing with 10 tons of snow to be removed, well, you need time. I bought Chuck a pair of snow pants for Christmas thinking I was about four days too late. Thank goodness I was wrong! I love that he's been able to put them to use. I, thankfully, have all my gear from my Kirkham's days. And Rhett has some snow pants and boots we picked up during the Christmas storm. Having the right clothes has made such a difference. Even if you can't move in them.

Also, eating is important. I don't mean cold cereal either, although that's still yummy. I mean white chicken chili, tacos, spaghetti and meatballs, pizza with this yummy sauce, steel-cut oats, banana nut biscotti, chocolate chip cookies with peanut butter, and peanut butter oreo pie. I don't think we eat this good when I can go to the store. But with all the shoveling, I still think we're losing weight. At least I am telling myself that.

Finally, you have to keep busy inside. We've done play-doh, movies (Adam--anyone seen this? It would be great on Valentine's Day.), crafts, reading, television (anyone else excited for Survivor? So many familiar faces!), and home improvement projects. I've even done some internet shopping. Tell me I'm not crazy for loving and then buying this. If you don't stay busy, you might try to stab yourself (or others) with icicles. No lie.


A couple of other minor gems: Don't look at the snow for too long. It's blinding.

Don't expect the ends of the Christmas Hot Tamales to last when you're snowbound for an entire week.

It has certainly not been an easy week, but at least it's been educational.