Yes, I know, I’ve heard it all a thousand times:  there’s something wrong with me. 

I love cold weather and snow.

Take this morning—what may be the last of the really cold mornings of the winter.  I woke up and looked outside and a big smile came to my face because it had snowed.  Not a lot—maybe just a half-inch.

But, it gave me an excuse to go out and play.

That’s the other thing:  I love shoveling snow.

I dressed and took my dog, Wrigley W. Whitehouse out in the back yard.  It was 17 degrees and there was no wind.  The early morning sun was just peeking over the rooftops. While Wrigley did his business, I thought I’d do just a little shoveling, so I grabbed my snow shovel and cleared the back steps and porch and the area just at the base of the steps.  And the sidewalk just inside the back yard. I shoveled a single path up the driveway to the front of the house.

And, did the front steps, front porch, and the sidewalk leading from the porch to the front sidewalk.

Wrigley announced it was time to go inside, so I shoveled a path down the other side of the driveway and put him back in the house and went back to shovel the wide sidewalk in front of our house.  Then, I did the sidewalk down the side of our house, since we live on a corner lot. 

The rest of the driveway was next.  I finished it up, cleaned up some edges here and there, and stood back to admire my handiwork.  Good to have it done.  The whole thing had taken about 30 minutes. 

I probably should have put on a hat, gloves and a coat.

Boots would have been a good idea.  Actually, shoes would have been better than my slippers, but I hadn’t really thought I was going to do much more than let the dog out.

I missed the big snow earlier in the week as I had to go to Florida on business, where everyone is there because they HATE winter. The first thing everyone---EVERYONE—says to me down there is, “Oh, I’ll bet you’re glad to be down here and out of that horrible cold!”

When I was younger, I used to grit my teeth and say, “Oh, my yes, it is sooo lovely here!” but now that I’m old enough to be crabby, I snarl at them and say things like, “No!  I love the cold and I can’t wait to get back to Michigan where the weather is good and where I can walk across the street without breaking a sweat, and how can you stand it down here?” 

The last day we were there, it was cool in Florida and they were all wandering around complaining and wearing ski parkas.  Ha! (Marsha and I walked in the morning.  I wore shorts and a tee shirt.)

My good neighbors were very kind and cleared my driveway and sidewalks after the big snowfall that came while we were gone---the lucky dogs.  Earlier in the month, while they were away for two weeks, it snowed several times, but never more than a two or three inches, so I only got to clear their driveway and walks three or four times and it was never very challenging.  I had so hoped for The Big One---something that would really challenge me.

Before we all know it, the daffodils and crocuses will be abloom and winter will be but a memory.  Then, hot weather will come and most people will be smiling and I’ll be huddled in a ball on the floor in front of the air conditioning duct, dreaming of February.

                               by Jim Whitehouse

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