One foot and counting

Now that is what I am talking about! A true blizzard, a fabulous way to jumpstart winter. While it was quite enjoyable hiking around in near 60 degree weather for the last part of November into early December, it felt a bit like cheating.

Now we have about a foot -- and it's still snowing up a storm. Of course the fact that nearly every school in the state cancelled didn't stop us from driving our kids to their schools -- which never get cancelled. Maddie's school is right down the road, no big deal, but Charlie's is normally a 1/2 hour one way and today it was double that. If I wasn't stuck behind a plow, I was plowing the road myself! Yikes.

The moment Charlie got home he shoveled the walk per my request then jumped on the snowmobile. It's pretty wild that in one day we have enough snow for that! We were just plowed and there are five-foot snow banks! Love it.

So we got a new car a few days ago and I am still in that getting used to it stage. I still don't know where everything is and there are still bells and whistles I haven't discovered yet. It is a newer version of the Sequoia we turned in, so some things are the same, but not many! And it feels SO MUCH BIGGER. Yesterday while I was driving around, instead of flying into a parking space, I went in with much more hesitation. We put the old and the new car side by side and it is NOT bigger, but they did some pretty fancy configuring because I am telling you, it's an illusion! So in my mind it feels bigger and I am not yet confident of its size and abilities.

So. Now I get to take it out into blizzard conditions! Well, yippee for me! The old Sequoia was really amazing in the snow; and is one of the key reasons we decided to get another one. This is actually our third. We have had just about every enormous SUV out there -- the Suburban, the Expedition (toyed with getting the Navigator more than once, but that felt insanely large and over priced) and the Sequoia, which is truly the most comfortable car (large-sized SUV) on the market in my opinion. And I am picky! So when I would test drive a car, I would then climb back into the old Sequoia and it felt better than the brand new one I'd just been in. That tells you something. That was, until I tried the new Sequoia! Gosh, I hate spelling that. I had at last found the car that beat the Sequoia in comfort. Except, it was a Sequoia and I'd sworn I wouldn't get another one. (I swore that when we got the second one too!) Why? Because it's so damn big and I do not have a call for such a beast on a daily basis.

But ... let me tell you, I have done some crazy assed driving in snow (like driving to New York City in a blizzard last year) and the Sequoia is AMAZING. This morning I was very apprehensive because I didn't feel as though I was one hundred percent there in terms of my comfort zone in driving the car. So, we drove around (instead of plunging head first down the mountain) and while the roads absolutely did suck, the car went through no problem. I started to feel a little better about it, but again, I still didn't know how touchy it was in terms of braking or even what it felt like when it slid. After I dropped Maddie off, the ride back was fairly benign because I was behind a long line of cars going too slow. Can't get in too much trouble in that case. Then I pulled into my road and prepared to gun it ... it's a STEEP hill and it hadn't been plowed. I was ready to rock and roll. Except that there was a truck coming down. DAMN! I had to hit the brakes. The car went into a slide (controlled by more beeping and flashing lights than I'd ever seen) and stopped in plenty of time. The truck rolled by and I gulped as I glanced up the hill. Could I make it without a running start? I didn't even know how much speed I'd get in this NEW car ... but I figured, might as well find out.

No guts no glory, I hit the gas and off we went. I was waiting for ... well, in no time at all I realized this car wasn't being challenged at all. We were flying up that hill like butter! I yahooed a few times and slammed into the snowbank at the end of my driveway, then realized, since the driveway wasn't staked, that I had no idea where it was! I drove it over the lawn and into the garage! Success!

Then I had to go pick up Charlie. And I told myself I had to go DOWN the hill. I had to. I had told myself last year during that blizzard ride to NYC that NOTHING should ever scare me again in terms of winter driving because I'd driven through it all that time ... and it was all nothing compared to that.

Well, this wasn't nothing. It was snowing so hard they couldn't keep the roads plowed, and as I passed from town to town I would hit various degrees of plowed roads, right up to probably hadn't been touched in a good hour. At one point I was the first car in a long line of cars and I couldn't IMAGINE how they could be going so fast. I was having a hell of a time going through it ... I was definitely getting thrown all over the place as it was so deep. And when a car came toward me I would have to go off into unchartered territory and that totally sucked. But I realized that I was literally making a path for them -- they were just following my tracks!

When I arrived at Charlie's school, which also happens to be on a hill, I chose the wrong side and discovered that it hadn't been plowed. In fact, a guy who was shoveling his sidewalk looked at me like I was nuts for even trying. But I wasn't scared. My confidence in my car was growing by leaps and bounds.

By the time we drove home, the roads had all been plowed fairly recently and it was no big deal at all. Though the kids could not believe I drove through the snowbank at the end of the driveway! They were both screaming YOU'LL NEVER MAKE IT, and I said, oh yes I will.

And that is that story. Now I am off to make meatloaf and I intend to sit by the fire later and string cranberries and popcorn. Because ... it 'tis the season.