Blizzard 2009

WOW!!! Somehow I moved back to Cambridge, MA and didn't realize it. We have experienced the greatest amount of snow I've ever seen in the Washington DC area over the past 24 hours. I cannot believe it.

Now, I know, two feet of snow is sometimes not a big deal in areas that are used to snow. But Washington is certainly not accustomed to such a large amount of snow and definitely not equipped to deal with it! In fact, I rely on the snowfall here to come a few inches at a time and melt within two days. It is the only way that I find snow tolerable. However it is clear that this snowfall will be here for a while (with the temps staying in the 30s) and could possibly be added to on Christmas day. Yuck, yuck, yuck. I HATE SNOW!!!!!

I don't know exactly what to blame my hate of snow on. The majority of my childhood was spent in rural Indiana where we lived with lots and lots of constant snow. We would spend our winter days building snowmen and forts. The snow was ever present. Then I moved to Phoenix and enjoyed several wonderful Christmases in fabulous 70 degree weather. Who doesn't love a warm Christmas?

But I spent 4 years in Utah for college - back in snowland and I don't remember really hating the snow. It was pretty manageable. Of course, I never drove in it because I didn't have a car while I was in college. And since I lived in an apartment I didn't have to shovel anything either.

Then I moved to DC where as I've mentioned, it rarely snows and when it does it is usually only a few inches. It's just the perfect amount.

But I think what killed any love I might have had for snow was Cambridge, MA. And it wasn't just the snow. It was the overbearing, crazy, cold, cold, cold winters that last almost 4 or 5 months. Then if the cold isn't enough to kill you, the snow just dumps on you and dumps and dumps and dumps. There are many things that prevent me from every wanting to live in the Boston area permanently, but I can state unequivocally that the winter weather conditions rank as the number one top deterrent. No question about it!

So it was with joy that we moved back to Washington DC, escaping the cruel New England winters of the past, ready to enjoy the mild winters of the beautiful mid-Atlantic area. And wouldn't you know it, despite all those maniacs out there preaching about global warming, my deck has 24 inches of snow, my car is buried, my street is unplowed, and I'm stuck in my house by one of the biggest snowstorms the area has ever seen. Who knows if I'll be able to make my doctor's appt on Monday morning? I guess I could if I decided to walk the mile plus to get there.

Who knows when the lousy HOA will plow our street? We pay our HOA fees for two main services - lawn care and snow removal. Guess what, there WAS a snowplow out in the neighborhood yesterday, but they only plowed a handful of streets of the neighborhood completely ignoring others including my own. I'm so incensed I don't know what to say. Clearly they had the capability to plow, they just didn't. Late last night Matt and I noticed a firetruck and ambulance had been called to our street. I have no idea what might of happened, but we watched as the firemen slowly attempted to dig themselves up the street and then eventually have to call in a tow truck to tow the ambulance up the our little hill. All of this could have been prevented if the stupid HOA had done its job. They are lucky I will have just delivered a baby by the next HOA meeting, cause otherwise they would get an earful from me.

And oh I could go on and on about how our plans for Saturday were ruined because of the snow. At the top of the list, was our hope to have a nice anniversary dinner. Instead we ate leftover pizza. But we also had Christmas shopping and returns to do. But I've got to stop complaining or I will just get more and more fired up.

If there's a silver lining to this whole thing it's that my huge desire to deliver this baby immediately has been staved off. At this point, considering our current weather conditions, I don't want to have the baby until the roads have been cleared, my street has been plowed, and I know that I could actually get to the hospital!!!

OK, I'm done ranting.