I Suck At Blizzards

It has been one crazy weekend.

And sadly, the weekend is pretty much over and I can't say I really did much this weekend other than shovel snow. Interestingly enough, I do own a snow blower. My driveway is long enough that shoveling it by hand can take some time. So when the blizzard forecast came about, I thought I'd be good and actually get the snow blower ready. After all, the snow blower has practically been untouched for about two years, which was the last time there was a big chunk of snowfall.

Needless to say, I think my snow blower incident was an indicator of things to come during this blizzard. Yep, I suck at blizzards. Not only could I not get the snow blower running, I actually pulled so hard trying to get it to start that I ripped the chord right out of the blower. Not just once. Twice. Both times, I had to take apart the back just to rewind the pull string. It was frustrating, especially since I still could not get it to run.

And since I really couldn't spend too much time tinkering with the snow blower (I have kids), I decided I'd just forget about the blower and remove the falling snow the old-fashioned way... with a shovel. It took a while. But I suppose the plus side is that it was a great workout. Heck, I'm still a little sore from shoveling.

And yet, shoveling was not the worst part of the blizzard. Shortly after 11 p.m. on Friday night, we lost power. I only happen to know the time because I was up late watching a movie on my laptop. For anyone curious, I watched Fright Night. The reboot was actually pretty entertaining. I enjoyed the movie. But while the movie was playing on my laptop, I noticed the power went out throughout the house. Thankfully, I still had enough battery power in my laptop to finish the movie. Just kidding.

But for most of Saturday, we were without power... which I suppose made shoveling that much more bearable since it was something to do to kill the time. The down side of course... heat. My house runs on electricity, including the heat. If it were just Karen and I, we'd probably have no problem because we could always just wear layers and layers of clothing to keep warm. Well, I'd probably have no problem. Karen gets cold easily. But when kids are involved, that's when things get a little tricky. Truth be told, I was starting to get a little concerned after a while for my eleven month old daughter (Bridget).

Luckily, my favorite sister-in-law (Janine) had power during the blizzard. Not only did she have power, she had heat. So off we went to her place, just as the driving ban was being lifted by the governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. I always knew Janine was my favorite. It probably should go without saying that it's good to know that we have a bunch of good friends and family who are willing to help us during times of need. So thank you everyone.

Anyway, it definitely felt nice to take a nice warm shower at Janine's. My two year old daughter (Briana) had a blast playing with her cousins and her auntie. It was a great time. Interestingly enough, Bridget took her first steps at Janine's. Similarly, Briana also took her first steps shortly after being at Janine's when she was learning to walk. That was yesterday.

So as to not wear out our welcome, we packed our things and headed to my parents in Quincy today. After all, the town of Norwell was not supposed to get power until three days from now... Wednesday. Things were looking pretty grim, not only because the temperature in our house had fallen to 40 degrees, but because living with my parents until Wednesday wasn't too high on my list. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents. But spending that much time with them may drive me crazy. Yes, I know. I'm a terrible son.

Anyway, my parents definitely enjoyed seeing Briana and Bridget. They were extremely happy because today is Chinese New Year (the year of the snake) and they thought it was such a nice way to start the year off. The "nice" part being the fact that they got to spend time with Briana and Bridget, not the fact that there was a blizzard that wreaked havoc. I think my parents get all giddy whenever Briana and Bridget are around. It's cute.

While at my parents, my neighbor (George) called telling me that power was restored to our neighborhood. That was exciting news. Thank you Stop and Shop for being so nearby. I am guessing that may have benefited us. Truth be told, I think my parents were slightly disappointed to see us go home, probably because they wanted to spend more time with Briana and Bridget. But at least they got to spend some time with them, right?

All in all, it has been a crazy weekend. Thank you again to everyone who was involved in helping us. I hope the best for those who still do not have power from the blizzard.