I moved from the north to the south because I really hate the cold. I really don't like the snow (although my dogs LOVE IT!!). Yeah....I know it's pretty to see all the trees and ground covered in snow and the big deal about the whole "White Christmas" idea. However, I'm old enough to have my fair share of the white Christmas and sleigh rides.
I've also done more then my fair share of shoveling the fluffy white stuff. It was great when I was a kid to earn a few bucks shoveling snow for the neighbors who didn't have their own kids to do it. Then of course as I got older shoveling got put off until I got home from work. Old enough to drive and go to work but still young enough to throw a snowball at a neighbor who was clearing the snow off their own car. I still appreicated the beauty of snow and as a mother I loved playing in the snow with my daughter doing those traditional things such as building snowmen, sleigh rides and snowball fights.
Then as I my daughter got older and had a job of her own and I'm housebound by this time, snow became a bit of a hassle. I'd get up early to make sure my daughter's car was cleared of snow as well as the sidewalk and driveway. At the time my daughter was a head teller at a bank, so she dressed real nice and I didn't want her to get wet clearing snow so she could get to work. I've always had "blue collar" jobs so my appearance wasn't has important. Again at that time I wasn't working anymore so I cleared snow for my daughter. It's what you do for you kids.
After twenty plus years of shoveling and really hating the cold both me and my daughter decided to hell with this and moved to NC. I have a brother who lives there and while it still gets pretty cold the snow is limited to maybe an inch or so and even then it melts pretty fast. My first year in NC, saw flurries which didn't stick to the ground and that was about it. This year, my second year still saw nothing in the line of snow which was fine with me. The day after Christmas I wake up to a snowfall that would make me feel like I was up north again. Seven inches of snow!! What the hell !!!! The power goes out, cars stuck all in driveways and roads, no county plow trucks, no snow shovels and most folks around here never heard of a snowblower. The only people who are out driving are those who are not originally from NC and are familiar with driving in these conditions. Of course there are the lucky few who are use to driving off road in the mud and think driving in the snow is much the same thing as the mud.
I'm sitting at the dinning room table thinking maybe I should have moved farther south!!! The area where I live hasn't seen snowfall like this in 20 years. Alot of people think as long as you got a truck then you can drive through just about anything. They don't realize that a pickup truck, while it is a truck, is probably "one of" the worst vehicles (next to sports cars) to drive in the snow. Yeah, those 4X4s get plenty of traction of course stopping is another thing. The really good thing about this mess is that southerns will stop and help their fellow man. If your stuck, someone will stop to help you out.
So, as I pour my second cup of coffee looking out the window, I can only hope that the locals don't blame me for the snow...thinking I brought it with me from the north. My dogs on the other hand are having the time of their lives. I have small dogs so 7 inches of snow is almost up to their chins, so they bunny hop through the snow, eat the snow and even roll in it.
Happy New Year
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