Oh the weather outside is frightful
But my blower is so delightful
And since I’ve no place to go,
Let it snow. Let it snow. Let it snow!
I like my snow blower, but I didn’t want the thing, especially after my husband’s accident with our neighbor’s snow blower 15 years ago. Rob lost three of his fingertips on his right hand to one of those beasts, and I was determined to preserve the rest of his body parts. From that point, I banned the purchase of all machines with sharp blades.
Each year, I happily overpaid for plows to clear snow from our driveway for a handful of days during the season. Unfortunately, I still had to shovel the walks, dog run, and the end of the driveway where the street plows pile mounds of snow to block taxpayers in, making us late for work.
It’s fascinating, if you think about it. Our local government, with our tax dollars, pays plow operators to make everyone late for work. Of course, drivers clear the main highways, but here’s a news flash for you: Clear the roads from our driveways and streets so that we can get to the expressways. But I digress…
While the snow blower was on the top of my ‘Do Not Buy ‘(DNB) list, Rob wore me down, and two years ago we bought one. It will make our lives much easier, he said.
He was right. It has made my life easier, since I’m the one who must clear snow when he’s not home. Ironically, Rob’s travel coincided with most major snowstorms.
So it snowed yesterday. A lot. After shoveling for 20 minutes, I decided to get the snow blower. It was in the basement, keeping warm and dry over the summer. I had almost forgot about the red beast.
Rob didn’t think I’d be able to fit the snow blower through the sliding glass door. He told me to measure it, and said something about needing to take the door off. My eyes glazed at the word “measure.”
I like to do things different.
I eyeballed the width of the doorway, and figured since I got the beast in a few months ago, I should be able to get it out. While I pushed and pulled it through the narrow opening, I had a Zen moment of how many things I get done in life by pushing and pulling. I wondered what that says about me? And then the machine popped out of the door onto the patio and my attention turned back to the task at hand.
Once outside, I said a prayer so that the beast would start. I unplugged the Christmas lights from the extension cord buried in the snow and plugged it into the starter. Voila! The machine roared to life. I went on my merry way, pushing the blower up the hill.
If feels good to have a clear driveway. The funny thing about weather is that it does what it wants. Mother nature dumped another 7 or 8 inches overnight. And so the circle continues.
Let it snow!
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