Snow Day

Know what sucks? Waking up on a Saturday morning and looking out the window to see that it is actively snowing heavily. Don't get me wrong; it was beautiful to look at, but by the time it had finished there was like two added feet of snow on the ground in addition to what we already had.

Know what else sucks? Kurt is in Utah for the weekend for army drill.

Know what else sucks? Having to shovel your driveway when you're pregnant and you have a bad back. 

I really considered calling someone to help me or ignoring it and accept that I was barricaded in my house, but I couldn't let myself. I got out my shovel and snow clothes and headed outside. 

This is the first time I have tried to use our new snow shovel. It's a pretty heavy duty industrious one, and I'm not surprised that Kurt's big strong muscles have no trouble maneuvering that thing around. I, however, am not so strong. It was hard to lift that thing even without a bunch of snow on top of it. Because of this, I had to get creative with how I was going to move this snow. 

I tried levying the handle in my arm pit and using both hands to scoop and move the snow. 

I tried putting the shovel on the ground and pushing it like a snow plow. 

I tried getting a shovel-load of snow and then kicking the shovel towards the place I wanted the snow to end up.

I even tried using it the proper way, but had little success. 

I finally decided that the shovel was hardly worth all the trouble. I then set it aside and went to a pile of snow. I bent my knees and put my hands down on the ground. I then proceeded to push the snow through my legs similar to a dog digging a hole in the ground. This, I found, was my most effective way of snow removal. 

All these methods made me extremely tired though. I took at least twenty breaks because I found that my back was aching and my heart was racing. Oh yeah and I was gasping for air. How pathetic right? I'm sure one of my neighbors was filming my whole affair and laughing hysterically. Everyone keep their eye open for a youtube video. I'm sure I looked ridiculous. 

I refused to give up though. I'm too proud to ask for help, I didn't want to be a prisoner in my own house, and I didn't want to think of myself as a pansy. Even though I wanted to give up many a time, I didn't. I stuck it out. It wasn't the finest work on the street or anything, but once I had gotten the mountain behind my car down to what I thought my 4-wheel drive could manage, I called it a day. 

Kurt called me shortly afterwards and I told him about what I had just undertaken. He thought I was a weirdo, of course, and wondered why I hadn't asked for help... Uhhh... because I don't need it, duh! No that's not what I said. I just kinda shrugged and said I had thought about it, but didn't want to be a wimp. We talked for a few more minutes and then hung up. 

About an hour or two later, I was in my room when I heard some weird noises outside our back door. I thought maybe some snow was falling off the roof or something, but it kept going. Then Tom-Tom started barking, so I knew something had to be going on. I got up and went to the door and cracked it open. There was our home teacher shoveling my snow! He had already done the entire driveway and was just finishing a path to the door. He had gotten clear down to the concrete even. 

 I gasped and said, "George, what are you doing??" 

He smiled at me and said, "Your husband called and said you needed some help with the snow."

"Oh my gosh! You are so kind. I really appreciate your help. Can I help you finish?"

"I am actually done. You gave me a good head start. Good to see ya!"

I said good-bye and was so grateful to have such an awesome home teacher. He really is a great guy. I was also grateful that my husband thought to call him and ask him for help because I was too proud. Even though we could have survived with my crappy snow removal, I did the bare minimum. It was so nice to have someone come and really go the extra mile. It just reminds me of how blessed I am to be a member of the church where I have so many resources and people willing to help me. I guess this whole post (in a really long, roundabout kind of way) is about me acknowledging my blessings. I'm soooo lucky. I'll blame it on the pregnancy, but I feel emotional just thinking about all that I have and probably don't deserve. It's amazing what Heavenly Father sees fit to give us when we can survive on so much less. I'll wrap this up with some pictures of the snow when I first opened my door and saying that for Right Here and Now  I am 100% happy with who I am and the life I have, because I have to admit, it's pretty stinkin' awesome. 

Poor Tom-Tom did not like these winter winds and wanted back inside pretty promptly. I have to admit it was pretty cute seeing him hop around and dip down beneath the snow.  

You can't really tell how deep my foot print is, but it went up to about my knee.  

I could hardly get in my shed! Luckily the shovel was near the door.  

Yeah that's our utility meter. Tom-Tom won't be able to get tangled up around that thing for a while. Yes!! 

This is how deep the snow was behind my car in the driveway. And on top of it all, when the snow plow comes down the road, they create a nice little mountain for your to overcome in order to escape. How sweet! 

I am standing in front of the shed surveying our driveway and the work I have ahead of me. Yippee!