Winter is Here!

Our house this morning.

Our next door neighbor's house this morning.

I woke up to a beautiful snowstorm this morning.  The bright colored leaves are peeking through the white and I hear my neighbor's snow blower.  This reminds me that he didn't call me this morning.  

About a year a half ago a new family with 3 girls moves in next door.  We are excited since we seem to repel neighbors (no one on either side or across the street for quite a while).  They move from Arizona and before that Sunnyvale, California.  They seem excited to be here but have lots of questions.  Mike must have made tons of money and doesn't need to work as he is home all day.  He starts calling me asking "Do you know anyone who would like a job cleaning up the yard?"  Do you know of a good lawn service?  Where do you buy such and such...  What do you do when.....  It starts to be funny when the phone rings and Mike says, Uh, Lorna do you know....? and I usually do which causes an increase in inquiries.  Mark says I should start answering the phone "Information" (I feel like the lady on the phone in that story we all hear as kids, "Information Please").  This goes on for months until it is November when it starts to snow.  Mike starts to panic.  He is the neat freak kind and doesn't like any snow on the cement.  He calls first about a snow removal business (yes, a friend of mine, but not good enough), then borrowing our snow blower, then debates about what kind of blower to get etc....  Then my favorite phone call early one very snowy day after a week of snowy days--a very exasperated Mike says:  "Lorna, what do you do with all of this?"  I can't stop laughing.  I tell him first of all, you don't move in next to the Browers as my family has been praying for snow for a month and this is their answer.  He doesn't laugh.  He has been blowing and shoveling most of the night and it is coming down faster than he can keep up.  He is sore, mad and doesn't know what to do. The Browers on the other hand are celebrating and excited.  No one at our house is worrying about snow removal.  You just do it when you get to it.  Usually you wait until it stops.  Mostly you enjoy skiing, building jumps and rails and generally causing great concern from the passers by as you ski off the roof onto a rail and then up a jump that used to be a large garbage can.  Kids from all around come to watch and try the various and dangerous snow related activities in our yard. The atmosphere is party-like.  Mike watches and  is truly amazed and very worried.  After a week or so his girls venture out into their yard after borrowing snow clothes from me.  My kids think they are running a jail next door.  Why don't those girls ever come out?  

Mike and family survive last winter and spend lots of time and money on a new yard this spring and summer.  We spend a little time and very little money on our yard and today the yards look the same, white and beautiful.  And Mike does not call, does not have a single question.  He takes care of his snow and goes in the house and doesn't seem to be worrying about the white adding up on the driveway.  I am just a little sad.  He doesn't need me.  Maybe we can invite Mike and his family over for hot chocolate and an evening of watching the boys nearly kill themselves in the backyard. Happy Winter!!!!!!