Snow Day

 Wednesday, January 11, 2017.  We woke up to a fresh snowfall. Mother Nature dumped a foot of snow on us over night. It was beautiful. I was halfway to work when I realized that getting a foot of snow in Southwest Washington is too rare an event to squander at work. It wasn't responsible. It wasn't the adult thing to do. It was, however, the best decision I could have made. Michaela didn't have classes. Amanda's clinic was closed for the day. It was time to do something I hadn't done since high school. It was time to take a snow day.

   I started the morning with every intention of going to work. I didn't sleep well the night before. I have been having extreme pain in my left shoulder and arm for the last week or so. I jammed my neck while at work and so far the chiropractor has not been able to loosen things up. The pain is an 8 at times. Sleep does not come easy when your mind is consumed by pain. Somewhere around midnight I moved to the sofa so as not to wake Mandy. Oddly enough, I drifted off shortly thereafter.

   The alarm came far too early. I hate 5:00 a.m. I got up, made coffee, took my meds, and looked out the window. 

 

6 inches of snow had fallen and it was still coming down. I rushed outside and plugged the Christmas lights in and then took this picture.  The snow was just too pretty to not have a Kodak moment. "Is there still such a thing?" After taking the picture I woke Amanda and we shared coffee and morning news before I got dressed for work. 

   I left for work at 6:00 and made it about 5 miles before I decided to call my boss and take my last PTO day. 

 

I pulled into our driveway about 15 minutes after leaving for work. After sharing another cup of coffee with Amanda We put on our snow clothes and went for a walk around the neighborhood. For the last few weeks the temperatures have not risen above freezing. Silver lake is frozen solid. Seeing the lake with 6 inches of fresh snow on the frozen service was absolutely breathtaking. We stopped at a boat dock to take a selfie. We finished our walk and woke our daughter. We had a hot breakfast and then the three of us went outside to play in the snow. 

   We stayed outdoors most of the day. We took one of the snowmobiles out and hooked a sled to it. We took turns towing each other around the neighborhood. It wasn't long befor the rest of the neighbors took notice. Suddenly everybody wanted to go for a ride. We were happy to oblige.

 

   Later in the afternoon, we drove to my mom's house and went for a 3 mile walk in the snow.  It was good to hang out with her.

   I have said over and over that cancer changed my life. Our snow day was an example of that change. Prior to cancer I would not have taken the day off. I would have went to work and missed the opportunity to spend a day with my family.  It is sad that it took a terminal cancer diagnosis to show me what is important in life but I am very grateful that it happened.