Digging out

Visiting family in upstate NY. I sure timed it well. I think I was complaining recently about the weather being very ... not winter-like ... & while complaining, I went on to say how I remembered the snowstorms of the 70's. Walking outside & all of the steps to the front door were buried. All 5 steps! And now, we've been transported back in time. It's the relentless snow. One storm comes through & buries us. We dig out. And we say, WOW. That's a lot of snow. Schools are closed, stores are closed... Then the weather report informs us that the nor' easter has passed, but there's a band of lake effect snows heading our way. And they sit above us, dumping & dumping. And we dig out. And stores close. And they declare emergency conditions & get federal funding ... & schools cancel february vacations because they've used too many snow days... And I look at the snow banks that are tall as me & wonder how the hell I shoveled all of that... And I think to myself, I KNOW we are all secretly hoping out roofs are strong enough to handle the weight. And now I realize, that the snowstorms I remember from the 70's were much less worrysome, & a heck of a lot more fun.... probably because my job at the time was to play in it, not to shovel it. :-)