It’s been a long winter. . . in many ways. When we left Florida in early January it was
85 degrees. We arrived back in Boise in
the middle of a snowstorm. There was
over a foot of snow on the ground. The
taxi got stuck in our driveway and my husband had to help the driver dig out. The snow continued to fall and the
temperature dropped to 0 degrees. That
meant the snow stuck around. We hired a
couple of teenage boys to shovel out our front driveway so we would have one
car to drive. After another week or so
we hired a guy with a snow plow attachment to plow out the back driveway; I
needed our van. We ended up with a wall
of snow—it looked like a snow fort.
Boise is supposed to be the banana belt of Idaho. We don’t usually get that much snow. The last record was in 1983-84, our first
Idaho winter. (People had told us that
the snow all melts off by noon in Boise.)
The snow stayed on the ground for a while but we did not have this much
snow at one time. I went out as
needed. I learned to drive in the icy
ruts in our driveway and subdivision.
The main roads weren’t bad. As
the snow packed down, it became ice. I
slid around our cars instead of walking.
One day while parked downtown my shin slid into the metal at the bottom
of the driver’s door—my bone bruise is still healing.
I attended events, meetings, and trainings downtown, including at the
Capitol. We began our weekly prayer
vigils but shortened them to a half hour because it was so cold. I always take photos and post them. One Wednesday I wondered how wise it was to
post that day’s photos—I might scare people away. Everybody looked absolutely miserable.
We went days without seeing the sun.
In January I was still recovering from my surgery so my energy level was
low. So was my mood. Every new snow fall brought groans. I bought insulated snow boots. I ordered cleats to attach to my shoes so I
could walk on the ice. It began to rain
so we ended up with a slushy mix of snow, water, and ice.
And then it began to get warmer.
The snow and ice gradually started to disappear. The rivers began to rise, flooding some
areas. There is no longer any snow or
ice nearby. I do think spring is on its
way. People here are more than ready after
our record winter. I have seen crocuses
popping up around town and small green leaves are budding out on a bush by our
front walkway.
The sun was shining when I awoke this morning. A weekend trip had been cancelled so I had
the whole day ahead of me. I was on a
mission to sort, organize, and clean the mess of our table. Plans formed in my head for the next home
projects. The creative part of me
stirred and wondered what to do.
(Tonight I am writing.) I looked
at my messy craft table and realized I have to clean that up next. My sluggish winter brain and body are coming
back to life. What can I create
next? The world awakens in spring and
new possibilities emerge.
Written on 3/11/2017
