I'm walking through a white Christmas...

This is Torque's first snowfall! When I opened the door initially he was completely unsure if he should go out in the stuff, but after that it was pure joy. He LOVED it, and so did I.

All this joy and love however, came after the beginning of my night...

Heading home from work at 1930 (military time obviously) there was already a lot of snow on the ground, and it was still coming down. I wasn't worried about the highway drive, but I figured that I could have some trouble on the hills close to home. It turns out my fears were well grounded. Aside from the general icy conditions, the real issue came when I fell in line behind 3 other cars a a stop sign. Unfortunately there is a hill on the other side of the stop, and there were cars in all the lanes having trouble.


When it was our turn to try (after waiting forever) we didn't even get up the hill when we started spinning our tires. Long story short, I ended up pulling the car partially off the road; knowing it might get hit, so that I could hike the mile home and decide what to do. Poor Torque had to pee, and I had to get some better clothes on.

The walk home in thin scrub pants, with snow up around my ankles was not the most pleasant experience. I trudged through the heavy snow on the side of the road, and when the road was empty we (there were others doing the same) walked on the road. Thank you Jesus that mom had always taught us to make sure you at least have in your car clothes that would be helpful if your car broke down. That morning I had specifically put a scarf and my heaving gloves in the car...they turned out to be very helpful...



Once I got home I let the dog out, changed into my
snow pants, boots, and head gear, and prepared to trek back the mile to my car. AAA although helpful had a delay until 3am to get someone out to help, I decided to try it myself.

My little backpack had my craftsman flashlight, camera, wallet, and extra scarf. I had Torque's leash in my left hand, and my container of salt in the other. By this point it's almost 10:30.

The hike back while more tiring because I was carrying a load, was at least warmer!


The walk was so pretty. Snow everywhere, and that winter quiet when the world is insulated by the falling flakes. I wish I had had a better camera to capture some of the sights, but oh well - just know it's all in my head!

When we got back to the car most of the chaos had stopped. Most people had just left their vehicles. This was good because I had more space to work. I took me a bit of maneuvering slowly, but I got in a good position at the bottom of the hill and tried. No luck. A guy and his girlfriend were very nice and offered me a ride if I couldn't get up the hill, but I was determined. I will fess up that after about the 20th try I DID say a cuss word...but if it's consolation I hadn't really eaten much since 12 that afternoon, had walked 2 miles, and had worked a 14 hour day. That said my next words were asking Jesus and his angels to please melt the ice enough so I could get up the hill. I backed up pretty far to see if I could get a rolling start, salted in front of the car to try and get some traction, down shifted and started up the hill. The salt was helpful, and I think worth while to keep in the car.

Once I got moving I tried to slowly avoid the major ice patches, and not stop. Foot by blessed foot I crept up the hill. I can not tell you how excited I was! I was a long slippery mile to the neighborhood and the safety of my garage, but I finally made it! It was 11:30.

I was tired, cold, and excited. I had a horrid tension headache, and by legs were red from walking home the first time, but I didn't care. I got Torque some chew stuff me some Ibuprofen, and fell into bed.

Sorry for the long story, but I think it was a good one. It just goes to show, with a little resolve, common sense, and creativity you can break out of the normal box we live in and make hot chocolate out of cocoa.