Snowville, Snowmageddon, and Snowcropolis: Winter Weather Update

News Alert: Southeastern USA hit by huge snow storm. Many citizens in Alabama & Georgia woke up on Monday morning to discover 8 to 12 inches of snow on their property.

For some this was a most unusual occurrence. Other than heading to their local grocery stores to stock up on milk, bread, and cookie supplies they had no idea how to cope with this amount of snow. Entire bread aisles were decimated. Only a few forlorn potato rolls remained.

And now, straight from the snow ditch, here is my Eye Witness Report:

*Southern school districts canceled school on Monday long before the snow began to fall. So on Sunday night a few neighbors got together to celebrate the snow storm threatening the region. We drank copious amounts of wine, ate foods laden with fat and cholesterol, then danced in the snow like giddy kids rather than behaving like grown ups.

*Monday morning I woke up and walked out into the Winterland. I had never expected to stand in 8 inches of snow again after moving to Alabama. I took pictures. I expressed aloud my awe at the serene white beauty blanketing my yard and neighborhood. My neighbor grumped, "It is just heavy and a pain." I knew I'd have to shovel, but I had three in the attic. And I owned snow boots. I'd lived in the North. I was prepared.

*Monday morning continued: I shoveled snow with help of tired teen. Darling Hubby was out of town for the week. We were alone, but we had hope that reinforcements would arrive. Grumpy neighbor finished his driveway and stomped back inside his house never to be seen again. Then our neighbors to the right emerged with their two children. The one year old cried when she stepped into the snow. The four year old climbed my snow mountains. They were incredulous about my shoveling. I persisted knowing all too well what would happen if it got packed by tires, melted, iced over again. Finally, the husband asked to borrow a shovel. Great, thought I. Help is on the way and we'll work together. Nope. Apparently my fond memories of neighbors helping out neighbors with the shoveling task threatened to remain merely memories. Onward ho! Teen and I dug out her car, parked it in the garage, I finished the driveway just as reinforcements arrived. But they reestablished my faith in humanity during snow events.  We finished up my neighbor's driveway, I loaned out all my shovels, one person returned the shovels along with a fine bottle of wine. She lived two streets over and was very grateful for our help.

*Day Two of Snowville:  School canceled. Teen got sick on Tuesday. We raced to doctor. Strep. We hunkered down and watched other people play in the snow while we watched hours and hours and hours of reality television. Teen slept a lot. I managed to write my word count goal.

*Day 3 of Snowmageddon: School still canceled. Teen feeling better. A diet of Anytizers, cookies, and ice cold lemonade helped her recuperate. I looked over at the wine rack. Plenty of wine remained. Now we watched movies, continued eating foods that were not in the milk and bread category, connected to our friends via the Internet. My GRWA friends were surviving. Their children had overrun their houses. Cocktail tours started earlier and earlier.

*Day 4 of Snowcropolis: Another "snow day." Ennui is setting in. The longer we sit around the house eating cookies and swilling our drinks, the less motivated we become. Teen is much better. We shower, throw on makeup, escape the neighborhood in my SUV, drive to Target, eat lunch at Atlanta Bread Co., and go to Hobby Lobby afterward. When we return home, I decorate for Valentine's Day. I need to see some color again.

*Day 5 of Snowland: School is officially canceled. Writers are barely making their word goals, myself included. Teen escapes to the theater with a group of friends. The roads are clear, but not in the eastern part of the city so while learning can't occur, watching  movies and hanging with friends is not a problem. I eagerly await Darling Hubby's return. A teenager is easier to manage than children under the age of ten during this kind of week, but I miss having "adult" conversation. When he does arrive home, he teases me and says, "You just missed your drinking buddy." Possibly true.

Snowmageddon is officially over. Disrupted schedules are slowly returning to normal. Church has resumed, meetings are being held, and school will be session on Tuesday (Monday is a holiday for us). Teen has Destination Imagination and HS Musical Rehearsal on Monday. I'm heading to the gym to try to undo all the damage the cookies and wine have done to my middle, and Darling Hubby is catching up on paperwork on his day "off."

Snow in the south is a force to be reckoned with and I hope I can put my snow shovels back in the attic for the rest of the winter season.