I had a hard time actually writing the title of this post with sincerity because, after nearly four years at Fort Drum, the term “snowpocalypse” has a whole new meaning. Living in a state that’s so severely unprepared for winter weather has been quite the eye-opener for me and, I’ll admit, I had more than a few eye-roll moments this weekend. Take, for example, when I decided to shovel us out to run errands on Saturday, only to discover that our rental property only has a metal gardening shovel. Or, when I realized that the PNW snowplows don’t actually sand or salt the roads the night before a storm…or that cars remain parked on the streets so said plows cannot actually do their job to begin with.
We made the best of it though, and the boys and I (read: yours truly) shoveled the driveway on Saturday to go buy a shovel. Spoiler alert: no local stores had any in stock. Also, Starbucks was closed. We piled into the trusty NY-registered Civic because that little beauty still has snow tires on her, and we made our way to Lacey where we discovered most stores were closed or running on partial staff. So, after a disappointing shovel excursion, we went to Red Robin where we had the restaurant almost entirely to ourselves. The boys were in heaven.
And, of course, what snowpocalypse is complete without snowballs, toy lawn mowers, throwing sticks for a snow pup, and generally earning a hot cocoa treat? I love snow. It’s in my blood. Snow in the PNW is definitely a different ballgame though, and we’re already in for another wave of snow tomorrow. Schools and the base are already closed, and it looks like my OB appointment will be canceled again, as well. Is this mama going a little stir crazy? Yes. Big time.
But for now, I have to hazard a guess that, despite our slight stir crazy/cabin fever vibe, heaven might just be filled with big white fluffy flakes. Our little North Country men are embracing it wholeheartedly, and even my uber-pregnant self couldn’t resist helping them roll snowballs to throw for Danny in the backyard. It’s the little things, folks…like learning snow in the PNW shuts things down. 😉
