Snow, Snow, Snow, and The Extraordinary Who Show Up
It’s not often the world stands still. As I type, we are still amidst a snow emergency here in the Miami Valley. It’s been a long time since a storm of this size traversed across our country. We are certainly not the only ones digging out of this major snowfall.
Such stoppages are a reason to pause, literally. It’s not often such a massive snowfall calls much of the world to stop. For many of us, when schools and non-essential businesses are closed, it’s an excuse to rediscover home. Now, I fully admit I have no problem being snowbound at home. I think I’m probably a closet homebody who welcomes the slowdown of time that happens on such snow days.
The stories of this historic snowfall will be memorable for a long time. Shoveling the driveway became our story of the day. My husband and I bundled up, laced our snow boots and ventured out to clear the snow. The problem was we only had one legitimate shovel and one toddler shovel. So, needless to say, I was stuck with the toddler shovel; but the teamwork ended up working great. It didn’t take long to settle into the rhythm of the scrape. The air was still, void of the usual awakenings of cars, school buses, and frolicking children on their way to the bus stop just around the corner. The vapor of our breaths escaped into the quiet air warming us from the insides out. My husband did the heavy work and I followed along with my mini-sized trowel scooping the remnants of his shovel pathways into the rising snow drifts on either side of our driveway. Soon, our neighbors next door joined the driveway shovel party with their three little boys rearranging snow in the ways only little ones can do.
As we cleared enough to see the blacktop, I heard the siren sounds of the ambulances and fire engines from the fire station just down the road. I offered a moment of appreciation for all who, despite the hazardous road conditions, went to work. We call them essential workers, and they are. First responders, doctors, nurses, nursing assistants, and medical maintenance employees found a way to show up to care for those in need. And of course, our grateful appreciation goes to those public works employees who spend tireless hours in trucks with plows clearing off streets so that the rest of us can be safe. I realize there are many parts of the country where ice wreaked havoc. I imagine line crews gathering from neighboring communities working tirelessly to restore power for those who must navigate the aftermath of this storm without electricity. Mail carriers still have to deliver the mail. There are many hero’s in our midst who might think they’re just doing their jobs, but in reality they are saving us.
By the time we finished removing close to a foot of snow from our driveway, it was time to shovel again. The graceful but relentless trickle of snowfall continued, and continued some more. We would revisit the driveway several more times on this remarkable day. My toddler shovel worked just fine.
By the time you read this, most likely we will have reset back into ordinary time. My guess is the snow drifts lining our neighborhoods will remain as evidence of our 2026 epic snow days. It’s still winter, after all. Today, as we welcome February (and a new month closer to Spring), we will remember this January storm for a long time. I will remain grateful for the many among us who showed up determined to simply do their jobs. In reality, there was nothing simple about it.
Photo by Nasim Keshmiri on Unsplash