The Rest of Winter

I admit it.  We're weather wimps in the Northwest.  We've certainly had it easier than most parts of the country.  We endured significant inconvenience and some cabin fever, but that was it.  I shouldn't complain, but that never stopped me before.

Being disabled and retired, I was free to enjoy the snow and not have to get to work.*  There was nowhere I had to be until an important appointment on Friday.  But, it was warming up and melting the unusual heavy snowfall.  Being a temperate climate, snowmelt in the Northwest is ordinarily a fast event. This time, however, the slow thaw was a bigger problem than the snow!  It just wouldn't go away fast enough.  A little background: Our street is a bit of a hurdle.  If you can get up it and out, it's usually free sailing.  I wasn't worried. The driveway was clearing and Earl was making it to work with minimal difficulties (albeit with 4-wheel drive).  He just avoided idiots who drove as if it was Spring.

Although my appointment was only a mile away, Earl was worried about both the weather with only front wheel drive, and my being alone.  As an ataxian, my navigation and stability margins are minimal. I put my son and daughter-in-law, who lived close by, on speed dial in case.  "Be careful," Earl said as he left for work.  I managed to focus on his expression of concern and not snap, "That didn't occur to me, I'm never careful..." but I was so close.

Our smartphone text messages:
From Earl: 'Just try extra hard to keep a steady but adequate speed going up the hill.'

From Tammy: 'OK.  I'll aim to stay in the tracks.  Thanks for scouting.'

Not too bad in the tracks
Clear roads once off our street
From Tammy: 'I am here safe and sound.  As usual, once I got off the street, the roads are clear.  Guess where the plow piled the snow in the parking lot?'

From Earl: 'Glad you made it, are safe, and didn't break anything. That seemed to go well.'

From Tammy: 'Well is a stretch, considering the snow piled in the handicapped parking.  Guess the snow plow drivers figured disabled people would have the good sense to stay home.  Being unable to pull all the way into the space, I partially parked.  When I opened the car door, I had to step on a snow pile.'

Too good a photo op to pass up
From Earl: 'Hope u got a picture of that.'

From Tammy: 'I didn't.  That was Jason's thought.  If our street wasn't so treacherous, I'd go back for one.'  (I did go back later and it didn't look like much of an obstacle after further melting, but then it doesn't take much.)

So, why didn't I just cancel the appointment? What could possibly be so important?
Our trip to Maui was coming up on Monday, I had to get my manicure and pedicure done, I'd had the appointment for a month and couldn't reschedule, and...oh, never mind.

The lesson:  Neither snow nor rain shall stay me from the swift completion of getting my nails done.**

* Previous post: A Winter's Tale
**Previous post: What Do You Do All Day?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We have contact

Image
Skeeter alerted me to an eyesight problem when I realized there were times when I had to navigate precisely while scooting.  I found myself dealing with my deliberate mono–vision by closing one eye in order to gauge available distance.  How much space was between Earl's car and my car, and between the telephone pole and the edge of the sidewalk?  How much asphalt before the road dropped off into dirt?  It was like my old "contact lens" days when one lens isn't in–blurry around the edge (not exactly double vision) .  Hmm, cataracts (at that time in life) , diminishing acuity (OK,  predictable... ) , Ataxia (a typical symptom for some people) ? Around 1993, I had radial keratotomy (RK) after years of wearing contact lenses or coke bottle glasses for being legally blind.  The surgeons gave me one eye for reading and one for distance (mono–vision) .  It was a good solution for someone in the 40s.  But, as I aged, the difference between the eyes was too significant.
Read more

Resume and Update

Image
It's been almost a year since I last blogged. I'd like to think that I was busy, but in fact, I was just too lazy and got overwhelmed at the thought of writing. The other issue is that not a whole lot new has happened and when friends would say, "You haven't blogged in a while," I just nodded my head and stared blankly. I thought maybe it was time to retire the blog and move on.  I mean-- geez! I started this in 2011. There are nearly 200 posts, two thirds of them after publishing my book.  How much blabbing can a person do?  However, the prospect of not being able to blab was just too much to deal with. So, I decided to dig in and update some old posts-- like, "Whatever happened to...?" or "w hatever happened after...?". Going through old posts was rewarding. I discovered that being honest has paid off in that most of my old observations were still valid.  I was relieved to know that there were few instances of "I wish I hadn't said t
Read more

East Coast Roadtrip

Image
East Coast Fall foliage It had been more than two years since we had ventured on our first roadtrip*.  It was time to move from using a walker to a wheelchair.  That was a particularly difficult humiliation bullet to bite.  I thought I had accepted the inevitability of progression, but I found myself whining, "No-o-o-o!"  Was this the end of the road before absolute immobility? Were my traveling days over?  More importantly, would I strain Earl's back and were my scooting days over? 😱 As with previous transitions, logic and practicality won out.  I was so freakin' slow with a walker. I didn't appreciate how frightening my precarious balance was to others.  Finally, I knew an injury was the bigger personal threat and was to be avoided at all costs.  Thelma and Louise ** became a permanent part of my next chapter.  Wheelchair use gave me greater mobility and freedom than I had expected.  It didn't impact my travel, scooting, and I didn't "
Read more