It snowed a lot – probably a foot - in town last night. I remember some years ago being terrified of driving in any amount of snow, so much so that I’d basically stop where I was when the first flake fell.
Last night I stopped to buy a giftmas tree (a little one I could maneuver into my car and put up myself), knowing full well I also had a hospital visit (to a perfect baby and his wonderful, strong mothers) still to make. There were at least a few inches sticking to the ground by the time I made it home. It’s a route I drive all the time, even a couple of times in snow last year, though it would’ve been easier to walk if I were wearing the right shoes & not carrying a giftmas tree. I’m less afraid of a lot of things. I suppose none of that story is a surprise.
I was the first person in the neighborhood to shovel their walk this morning. Not that I did a great job – it’s hard work – but it was pretty enjoyable. I may go back out in a bit and get a start on the alley next to my house. Anyhow. Many things came together to make clearing snow a pleasurable experience, and I wanted to note my appreciation of those things.
- outdoor CST training, for which I bought a warm under layer of clothes a couple of years ago
- a prior version of me who did not think enough about the worth of all life & therefore got leather gloves that fit my tiny hands – and I’m certainly not so squeamish that I won’t wear them now
- Buddhists and hippies and meditation – in other words, joyfulness found in work and single-minded focus
- my former roommate’s broad, square shovel (I can’t justify buying a snow shovel for one use a year, but this thing is great for moving compost and snow)
- that plastic-bottle-fleece jacket; man, that thing is warm
- the neighbors who walked by and stopped to chat
- jazz versions of holiday tunes playing on NPR
- the snow itself, which is nicely and heavy, but still dry, so it shovels like rice but sweeps like flour
- still having power & therefore heat and hot water, making it cozy to come back inside
- and of course, the physical capacity to shovel and sweep in the first place – simple activity feels so good sometimes