| | The Monday Morning Epistle |
 | 1 January 2007 — Happy New Year! |  |
Traditionally, the first Monday Morning Epistle of the new year has been rather short, and read something like “We are skiing in (insert European ski resort here).” While 2007 may not be starting with a family ski vacation, we certainly have enough snow! Back-to-back blizzards made the national news and dumped anywhere from two to four feet of snow all over Colorado. Mary's parents timed it perfectly, flying in as the first blizzard exhausted itself, and flying out just hours before the second arrived. (For those that are dubious, I'm using the term ‘blizzard’ correctly: winds in excess of 25 mph and heavy snowfall for more than a day. On a more subjective note, if we can't see the end of our driveway from the front door…it's a blizzard.) After shoveling several feet of snow out of our driveway for the second or third time, Mary & I decided that it's time to invest in a snow-blower, a decision that Alex & Jacob wholeheartedly support. One unexpected benefit of all this winter weather—other than postponing Alex's mid-term exams until January—is that whenever the State Police shut down Highway 94, Mary & I get the day off with pay. Northrop-Grumman normally shuts down for the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, so Mary was already off work; thanks to the dangerous roads, I ended up getting four extra days off as well. We are also grateful that neither of us are considered “mission essential”, because we've seen mission-essential personnel arriving at the Air Force base with sleeping bags tucked under one arm! The obvious downside is that Colorado Springs seems to believe in ‘solar-powered snow removal’, and the roads have been rather treacherous for the past few weeks. We've crawled home with Kermit's four wheel drive locked into Low more than once, and I've pushed from behind—and then jogged alongside—as Mary deftly slid Kermit sideways through major intersections at barely walking speed. Thanks to simple necessity, I'm now learning to navigate snowy, icy roads without panicking at every slip or slide; even so, this doesn't stop me from breathing a sigh of relief every time Mary says “I'll drive…” KidBit: Our church has a very steep entrance to the parking lot, so the family decided to walk to Mass on Sunday morning. (Actually, I decided and Mary humored me.) On the way home, Alex insisted on walking in the snow, despite the fact that he was wearing only his sneakers. At one point, however, the thin layer of hard wind-scoured snow gave way, and he plunged knee-deep into the soft powder underneath. Responding to his mock cries for help, I cheerfully body-checked him, leaving Alex neatly buried in the snow—alternately laughing and protesting—as his littlest brother gleefully flung tiny handfuls of snow at his prostrate form.  PotW: Welcome to the Colorado Springs adult exercise program…
2007.01.01-16:27 |