8+8+8=Insanity

Imagine living in picturesque New England.

Spring starts off the seasons with beautiful budding branches. Grey turns to green almost overnight as Poplars, Elms and Maples all start to shed their winter coats. Perfectly poised buds pop from little nubs into miniature forms of the future foliage they will be in a few months time. Grass begins growing again as lawns turn from cheerless to chartreuse.

Summer. Ahhhh, Summer in New England can be lovely. Camping on the coast of Maine can uncover sand dollars, sunburns and snippy hermit crabs. All are perfect and meant for kids to enjoy and memories to be made. When Maine is too rainy, as Maine can often be, there are always the mountains of Vermont. The Green Mountain state is duly named for towering pines that give shade to travelers whether picnicking, hiking or staying overnight. On the other hand, sitting in a backyard, enjoying a good old fashioned Slip-N-Slide, inhaling hamburgers on the grill and watching the Red Sox on their way to another World Series victory will always do in a pinch.

Fall.... Arguably my favorite (okay, maybe second favorite) time of year. The emotions of raking leaves is always the same. Eager enthusiasm to layer on warm clothes, pull out rakes and take to the yard soon turns to thoughts of hired services to do 3 days work in 3 hours time. Then the kids come out. Fights over rakes, whines of heat exhaustion or frostbite and constant potty breaks are no match for a well managed pile of leaves. The exhausting effort of attaining family-wide cooperation is quickly turned into a lark as soon as wide eyes spy even wider piles! Nothing beats innocent minds falling head first into a humungous mound of crunchy oak leaves.

Winter. Yup, winter in New England, or more specifically, "north of the Mass Pike" can be (to use a local term) a ˆwicked pissahˆ. Those of you from around the area know exactly what I mean. I've been back in Massachusetts for over 11 years now. I grew up here, weathered the infamous "Blizzard Of '78" and actually craved things like "wind chill temperatures" for the several years I spent in California. So I very wisely moved back East. And we (I should give my husband credit too) bought a home in the 2nd worst snow belt in the state. My 3 girls seem to love it here. Perhaps they don't know any different, but we do try to show them around the country as often as possible - we're off to "sunny California" next week as a matter of fact. But there is one area where our address has failed them. For the last, oh gosh it seems like an eternity, several years, all we hear is "we want a white Christmas!" True. Massachusetts, or at least our little portion of it, has been largely greenish-grey during the holidays in recent memory.

Ah, but dear, do remember to be careful of what you wish for!

With 10 days left in the month, we are well on our way to the snowiest December in history! Let me take you back a week...

Last Thursday was a beautiful day. Light, gorgeous, fluffy snow fell to a depth of 8" by the time all was said and done. Early school closings offered ample time to enjoy sledding runs and snowball fights. Mom even took a toboggan ride down the driveway after all the shoveling was complete. As easy task as light snow practically moves itself.

Sunday was not quite as blissfull. Snow falling on a weekend is a blessing, no doubt, but I guess it all depends on the type and amount of snow. Thick, heavy, wet snow is hard to move - especially 8 more inches of it! A husband bent on the latest XBox video game, as many of you well know, is ever harder (if not, impossible) to move. And then there's the dog. Let's not forget the 10 year old pooch who, for completely understandable reasons, doesn't move well on his best day and now needs a path from the back door all the way to the woods. That would be my job. That would be the end of my pining for a "white Christmas."

Oh wait, not done yet. If 16 inches of iced over snow (yes, I left out the details of how the 2nd storm ended with freezing rain) wasn't enough, more was in the forcast. 2-4 inches were due yesterday. For those of you reading this who have ever lived in the Northeast, you know that weather forecasting in, at best, a crap shoot. It is unbelievable how quickly 2-4 forcasted inches can turn into 6-8 real fallen inches, not to mention another shortened school day.

Bottom line, please everyone, stop wishing for a White Christmas! If you feel you really must have one, try renting the DVD - the one with Bing Crosby and Danny Kaye. We New Englanders are a hardy bunch, but even the burliest of snowplow drivers are feeling a bit overwhelmed right now!

On that note and with Christmas lingering just a mere 3 days away, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and the Happiest of New Years!