Snowbound? Not Here

If I'm not mistaken, I'm the only Alaskan contributor to this blog, and to be honest, the idea of being snowbound plays very differently here. With our four-wheel-drive vehicles, studded tires and vast experience in winter driving, even with the heaviest of snows, we are seldom truly stuck. This past Christmas, however, was a little different.

We hadn't had a great deal of snow by December. Four of my children are downhill skiers, and the youngest, especially, was desperate for some good snow. We finally got a large snowfall over Christmas break, and everyone rejoiced! What came next - an unseasonably warm spell with heavy rainfall - is something that was unheard of when I was a kid, but is becoming depressingly regular. The rain created a heavy ice crust over the top of the new snow, ruined the roads, the ski runs, and made the snowload on roofs dangerously heavy.

My library ended up with a leak caused by an ice dam on the school roof, which caused wet ceiling panels to collapse on my circulation desk, killing my computer but miraculously only damaged two books. That was a pain, certainly, but the worst part about the storm was that all the places I drive to in order to walk my dogs off-leash remained unplowed for weeks. When the back roads finally got plowed enough, we were able to get out on some beautiful and isolated walks. Pictured above is my third favorite walk. (Yes, I rank my walking places!) We were never truly snowbound, but our lives were affected and, in some ways, we are still feeling it. The roads, which got heavily iced, are still bumpy and rough three months later. The entrance to my very favorite dog-walking trail never did get plowed out, and so I haven't been able to get out there all winter. 

When the storm was predicted and arrived, I most certainly had fantasies about what I'd do. I would curl up with a fuzzy blanket and a bottle of wine and read all those books I'd brought home over break. I would finally get my writing groove back and sit down to revise the new-adult romance I've been working on. I would exist on canned soup and ice cream. My house would stay miraculously clean with no effort. Of course, none of those things happened. Because the ski area was closed, I had a very bored 12 year old on my hands. Keeping him entertained became my job because I'm Mom, and that's what Moms do. He had received a pair of plastic pop guns that shot big foam balls. We ended up turning off all the lights and having epic battles where we raced around the house and the dogs chased us and barked and tried to eat the foam balls. Was this what I had planned? Certainly not. But it ended up being the most memorable part of a very strange Christmas break, and one that I will never forget. 

We always have those pipe dreams . . . what would I do if the family all went on vacation and left me blissfully alone in the house for three days? What if my husband and I could actually go on a vacation together somewhere without any kids? What if I could get the house completely organized and keep it that way? The dreams seldom come to pass. What we are left with is our own messy realities, and while they may not measure up to what we'd imagined, there is much loveliness to be found if you only look. While my days of wine and reading didn't happen, I created a happy childhood memory for my son and chalked up a parenting win for me. And each time I continue to find one of those foam balls around the house - yep, still finding them - I will remember.