Snow Woman (PQW 12/29/10

(Note from the author. I wrote this the week before Christmas. We've since had a blizzard that garnered us 11 inches of snow. Please don't throw things at my house.)

If it is cold, I am a firm believer that it should snow. I am not much of a fan of cold weather, but I think snow is lovely. Snow has a romance to it that not many other weather phenomenon can claim. Snow makes you want to stop what you are doing and watch it in silence for a little while. I know some of you are probably big anti-snow people, but I bet even the most hardened snow dislikers amongst you would admit to a slight pause to watch the peaceful flakes swirl down from the sky.

I wasn’t much of a snow fan when I was younger. Everything closed and Mom wouldn’t take us anywhere because of the icy roads. It was always wet, slushy mess that soaked my gloves in a few seconds and made snowball fights akin to being hit with a baseball. 

But then we moved to New England! We had heard that Cape Cod doesn’t get much snow. I thought that was the same as saying Hertford doesn’t get much snow. I soon found out that we measure snow differently. Not much to New England would make us roll our streets up. Once at Sears I inquired about a odd-looking mulching machine they had on display. The nice Sears employee shook his head at my Carolina accent and informed me it was a snow thrower. Well, I had certainly never seen the likes of that before! I was pretty sure we didn’t need anything as complicated as that, so I talked Craig into a cute snow shovel. When we got home I put it in the shed about 50 feet from our house. 

A big winter storm arrived and I excitedly called my parents that evening to tell them we had 6 inches of snow! We had white-out conditions! How fun! But I woke up the next morning to 46 inches of snow. That was beyond words, even for yours truly. I didn’t call my parents for a good hour because I was seriously stunned. It was still snowing. We couldn’t even open our door! Then the faithful moment came when Craig asked “where is the shovel?” and I had to sheepishly tell him it was in the shed. Way over there in the shed, which was completely encased with snow. I’m just thankful our marriage survived that moment. Speaks volumes for the character of my husband. Turns out, snow shovels go in the basement.

We have had some snow here in Hertford this winter, and while we don’t need our shovel, we still have it. I like to bring it in the house at Christmas and stick a bow on it. It’s a bright red shovel and makes for cute winter decoration, but mostly, I just like having it close. I hope I never have to shovel this driveway with it! I might look into one of those contraptions at Sears. 

Calling all 'Super Moms'! (PQW 12/1/10)

Are you a super mom? You know the kind. The ones with the absolutely spotless houses that they could actually perform surgery in...and then do. The ones with the children who look freshly ironed and scrubbed. Those mothers who cook perfectly balanced meals at absolutely every dining opportunity. Grow their own organic vegetables and have their own grass fed cows. Those who make the cookies from scratch, jelly from scratch, itch relief from scratch. Those women who work all day and then stay home all day; who never leave their children and who go on trips alone with their husbands. Those women who look beautiful all the time, in the most stylish clothes, yet never spend money on themselves. The women who dote on their families, yet volunteer at every single thing going on at church and school without feeling overwhelmed. Starting to sound a bit impossible, right? It is. But I’m only starting to realize that fact.

I’m the kind of mom who naturally lives at the other end of the pendulum swing. The one who has dog hair balls blowing across the floor at least every other day. I probably track in as much mud as my son, because there is a good chance we were splashing in the same puddle. I have no use for an iron because I own a dryer. I wasted time I’ll never get back trying to farm organic tomatoes. We’ll just say farming is not my giftedness. Neither is cooking. I find it ironic that now that I’m starting to need makeup to look awake, I don’t often have time to apply it. 

I struggle with trying to balance motherhood with wifehood and all of the other things that come along that demand my time. For almost 3 years now, I have made a valiant attempt to accomplish everything I thought I needed to do. This summer I even added training for a 5K to my list. That was a fateful decision that taught me a lot. First, I learned that I actually can run. Secondly, I learned that I am just too tired to do it. It was the straw that broke the back of the proverbial camel. I actually passed out at the grocery store due to exhaustion! Even my eye doctor told me I was too tired.

I have since taken off my “Super Mom” cape. I feel a lot better! I have dropped a few extracurricular activities and eased back into a much more enjoyable pace of life. I am discovering that I’m a better mom now than I was when I was “Super”! I learned about pacing myself while running and it has great life application off the track. It is much easier to learn to balance a few things than whole lot of things! Motherhood is a feat of endurance. Every family is different and has their own pace. Be sure to find yours before you are feet up in the pet food aisle!