The kindness of strangers

I woke up to this:

(That's my fence under there, barely peeking through!)

Yes, more snow. 16 more inches to be exact.  According to the news reports, January 2011 has been the snowiest month ever here in Connecticut.  And our season snowfall total is already 60 inches, and we have several more months of winter yet.  It is pretty, but all this snow is taking a toll on my mental health!  I was glad I didn't have to drive to school today, but I was already thinking about how it's only the first week of the semester, and now I'm already behind. I definitely wasn't looking forward to shoveling it all...where are we going to put it?

We finally ventured out to shovel late in the morning, and I started thinking about a friend who is recovering from some major surgery, who would love to be able to get outside and walk around for a bit, even if there is 3 feet of snow on the ground.  I realized I should be thankful my husband and I are healthy enough that we can get out there and do the necessary physical work. Thankful that I'm not stranded at home by myself with two young children while my husband is stuck out of town on business, like another friend of mine. Thankful that I have two rambunctious dogs who aren't fazed by snow one bit.

(They are perched on top of our fence! 

Poor Radar always gets snowballs matted into his fur, but he doesn't seem to mind!)

Maybe all that positive thinking paid off? After an hour and a half, we had dug out the cars enough that we'd be able to get them out of the driveway.  Around this time, the man that had been plowing some of our neighbors' driveways came by and asked us if we'd like him to push back the rest of our snow.  Umm, YES, PLEASE!  He had a huge backhoe, and with just a few passes he was able to clear our whole driveway.

We offered to pay him, but he refused, saying he lived in the neighborhood and didn't mind doing it.

So now I am also thankful for the kindness of strangers!  I think some homemade baked goods are in his future!