We’re traveling back in time on the weekends, and you can read all about that here.
No, it’s not snowing today, but that could change at any moment. I love the photo in this post. As we bid farewell to our Holiday Travelers yesterday, I thought about this post.
Check it out!
Tapping into the Unexpected
Originally posted Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Snowy morning
(Click photo to enlarge.)
It’s snowing again today!
This picture doesn’t do it justice. I took this picture this morning, just before the sun has really come up, and the snow is giving a wonderful blueness to the world. (No, I did not alter this photo in PhotoShop. I don’t even have a true photo-editing program on my computer!) If you look, you can see I’ve taken this picture from the opposite vantage point as I did the header. You’ll see the juniper and the apple tree in the distance, and where we stood up the hill by the fence to capture our shadows in the snow.
I love the snow. I can say this today, because I don’t have to drive anywhere in it, and all my obligations are homebound.
I used to not mind driving in the snow. I used to log numerous hours of blizzard-driving in my car. I was calm on the roads. The Driver’s Ed course I took was during the Semester in which we had real live winter conditions to practice. Our teacher took us to a completely ice covered street so that we could feel what it felt like when the car spun a complete 360-degrees. She did that to take the shock and confusion out of it. From that point on, I learned the proper way to fishtail and maintain control of my car.
I’ve foolishly driven in conditions that were not fit for man, woman nor beast. I’ve always made it safely to my destination, but I had a Winter Emergency Pack in my car, just in case. I once drove six-hours straight through a blizzard, only to get stuck in my driveway. I remember grumbling with disgust as I got the shovel out of my trunk and started digging. That was when three teenage boys stopped to not only dig out, but push my car to freedom. Ah, those were the days.
Even after we moved away from the typical blizzards of the flatlands, I adapted. I will never forget driving in the mountains, and fishtailing around a corner. I knew I was in control, but one of my friends riding with me didn’t stop screaming until we’d made it back to the lodge.
But, something has happened to me. Ever since I had Claire, the thought of driving when it’s slick or crazy out unnerves me. My husband calls me a wussy and says it’s for the best that I don’t drive during rush hour anymore. I agree with him, and I’m glad I work from home.
Last year, on our way home from the Midwest for the holidays, we were arriving just as Blizzard Number Two was beginning for our area. (We’d snuck out right as Blizzard Number One was ending. Who knew we’d get sandwiched between the two!) Of course, it was my turn to drive. The tears slid down my cheeks as I slid through an intersection. Defensive driving skills or not, when your car is sliding on a sheet of ice, there isn’t much you can do about the drivers around you.
All I could think about was Claire. My hubby was yelling at me to stop crying and to focus!
“How can you see when you’re crying!?” he shouted, definitely not helping the situation.
“I’m not really crying, yet. They’re just tears, and they have to go somewhere! If you keep yelling, you’ll see what crying is! I don’t think I can do this! What if someone hits us!?” I screamed, much louder in my head than what came out of my tightly clenched jaw. I was mad at myself for not being able to stop the tears or the car from sliding.
“She’s safer than we are. She’s surrounded in a cocoon of Styrofoam and plastic, and she’s strapped in with a five-point harness. She’ll be fine. Plus, everyone is going 10-miles an hour or less. You do the physics on that.”
I remember calculating it in my head. Yes, I’m a dork, but I find calmness in the details, and my hubby knows that. Unfortunately, there weren’t enough details in the whole world to make the tears or the ice go away.
I felt like such a big baby, but I tried my hardest to keep it all together. I slid through three more intersections before we made it home. I kept my cool and navigated up our slick, steep street. After pulling in the garage, my hubby got Claire out of her protective shell of a car seat and they went in the house. I sat in the car and sobbed for a good minute before facing Claire…letting it all out. At that point, she’d never really seen me cry, and I didn’t want her to get all concerned about something that was all over now anyway. We’d made it home in one piece, and I pulled myself together before going into the house.
Wow. I did not expect the pictures I took this morning to tap into something so unexpected. I guess that’s the good thing about this blog. You never know what you’re gonna get! Obviously, these things are still bothering me, and now that they are out in the open, I can move on…as long as I don’t have to drive in it. 
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