More Cold Stuff

The other night, my husband was on the way home from work. It was a late night for him, and suddenly, in the middle of nowhere, he got a flat tire. 

He had to wait for roadside assistance and stand about while they changed it - all in in 7 degree weather. As in, SEVEN.

When we were newly married, we moved to Chicago so he could get his MBA. He was going to school, and I was working to support us as a teacher in a local elementary school. We were in student housing and were first-year students, so of course we couldn't get parking privileges. 

I used to leave the dorms, walk across the street to the garage, and get into the truck to leave for work.

Now, Chicago is cold. The wind whips off that lake through the city and chills everything, including Wrigley Field (great place to watch a game, btw.) I used to bring my sweatshirt everywhere in the middle of August.

Still, all was well and dandy until the day came when the temp was -17. Funny thing - turns out when it's that cold, your gasline freezes. Who knew? 

Chicagoans knew, that's who. When I phoned the school to tell them I would have to miss my first class, their reaction was one of astonishment. "You didn't put in gasline antifreeze? But this is winter! In Chicago!"

See that shady corner on the left? People are freezing there. 

Lesson learned.

And when we flew out for winter break and couldn't make it back because twenty inches of snow fell, closing the airport, was school cancelled? Not at all. Whip out the chains! Get to work, you lily-livered Easterner!

We adored Chicago, and I'd go back in a heartbeat. They have cool jazz, hot Bratwurst, and my favorite baseball stadium in the world. But I have to tell you - pack a sweatshirt. 

Ice and Snow

My daughter didn't want to study her spelling words.

"Why ever not?" I asked.

"They make me sad," she replied.

I looked at the list. There was Snow, and Ice, as well as Valentine and Washington. "What's wrong with those words?" I wondered.

She pointed to Valentine. "I know that's going to happen," she said. "But there isn't any snow. And there isn't any ice."

It has been an uncommonly warm winter. For some folks, that is a good thing. No digging out the driveway, no huge piles of snow where you want to park ... that's all good. But from a kid's perspective, there isn't any sledding (we call it sleigh riding in my area of New Jersey) or snowball throwing or icicle gathering and eating. (My kid loves icicles, more than ice pops.)

Remember the scene when it snowed in To Kill a Mockingbird? Scout and her brother went to all the neighbors' houses and asked them for their snow. With what they collected, they were able to build one snowman.

That's what we did in the last "storm." We scraped all the snow off the lawn and managed to make a decent sized snow dude. A day later, he melted.

The crocuses are coming up early. Soon, the pear trees will start to bud in the front lawn. Easter will come along, and winter will be over.

It's a good thing. But also a shame.