I love snow. Blizzards? Bring 'em on. I love to watch it fall, I love to see piles of it everywhere. I have been known to throw a snow ball, build a fort or snowman, sled down a hill or go for a walk in the silence that snow brings. However, I have to admit, I'm really a snow bunny. I prefer the lodge or in my case the living room couch where I can cocoon in a blanket and sip hot cocoa.
One thing I don't like to do in the snow? Drive! I'm native to Seattle. The PNW city gets some snow but not a whole bunch. I never really had to drive in it. By the time I was driving my dad was retired and able to give me a ride if the roads looked bad. Then he passed the honor on to my husband. When we moved to Idaho we only had one car so I never drove in the snow there. When we moved to Texas... ha.... it snowed once and was gone in a few hours. But here in Michigan... it snows and this year it started early. I have teens who have to go to the dentist and the doctor and church play practice and guitar lessons and any number of social events. And since Dad is usually either at work or in bed for these lovely errands guess who gets to drive them. Me! It is so not good.
Tuesday I had to drop off and pick up my eldest at a babysitting gig. Of course this family has a long, steep, curving driveway up to the house. (With tons of trees lining the drive.) I generally choose to stop at the bottom and let my daughter walk up to the house and down also. But Tuesday, oh Tuesday, I forgot my phone at home whilst going to pick her up. I didn't want to walk up to get her so I drove to the top. I am an adult after all. This backing down a long, curvy, steep, tree-lined drive shouldn't be a problem. Never mind that it is covered in snow.
Half way down the drive and "thunk". In avoiding a tree, I failed to see the utility pole and backed right into it. No big deal. I was going slow. No damage. I just put the vehicle in 4 wheel drive and drove forward. Of course what I couldn't see because of snow was the slope away from the driveway towards the tree I had missed. The car moved forward and promptly slid down the slope and met the tree most intimately. Okay, I'll just back up and be on my way. NOOOOO... I end up digging the wheels down, down, down. Now I am stuck and parallel parked between the tree and the pole. (Apparently the only time I can successfully parallel park is when I'm not trying to.)
Long story short, it took the grandfather of the kids my daughter was sitting, and my husband about an hour to dig and pull the car out. Sigh... why do these things always happen to me. Now I have a nice little dent in the front passenger fender and a busted tail light. Perhaps a move to Key West might not be a bad idea.
Now for the praises! No one was hurt, the damage is small, both my husband and the grandfather were available to help, it was still light out and there was a break in the weather, they got the car out. Big picture time. Big picture. Thank you Heavenly Father.
Lessons learned: Remember the phone so I can text my arrival to my daughter and not have to drive up to the house and if the phone is forgotten, don't be lazy. Park the beast and walk up to the house!
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