So it turned out that it was indeed too cold for buses to run this morning, and the elementary schools had to postpone or cancel (hopefully the former) their Valentine’s Day classroom parties. My daughter wasn’t terribly upset by this, although I know some little ones were in tears. I spent a largely productive day doing marking and working on various tasks for different projects. I didn’t get anything completed, but I made progress in little bits here and there, so that’s something.
At the end of the day, I was offered two free tickets to go to the Alyssa Reid concert here in town, so on the spur of the moment, I said yes. My first instinct was actually to politely decline in anticipation of my usual Friday night appointment with the couch, but I thought about how the nine-year-old had likely been a couch-potato all day herself, and she needed to get out and exercise. It’s been far too cold these last few days for much outdoor play, but at least at a concert, she could move.
Therefore, we went, and move she did! She spun, hopped, skipped, danced, kicked, and had a generally awesome time.
My ears are ringing a little now, and while I surprised myself and disappointed us both a bit by leaving early instead of waiting in the horde of fangirls to get autographs, it was a good move, I think. She has skating first thing in the morning, and it has been a long day for me, mainly of staring at papers behind a desk. It still amazes me how exhausting that can be.
I wish I had the energy to write a poem tonight, do something creative and fun, but I’m wiped.
One thing I’ve been wanting to comment on, though, is the peculiar beauty of the deep-winter streets in our town. We’re in a point of balance right now, where there has been just enough grading and freezing to make most of the road surfaces smooth. When there are thaws, we get chewed up slushy spots and potholes in the snow, making some roads downright treacherous to suspension systems and tires, but there have been so few of those that the streets are fairly packed down and rather aesthetically pleasing. Like frozen rivers between shrunken snowcapped mountains. It means taking extra care with driving, too, because those surfaces are just as slick as a frozen river would be. Even driving slowly doesn’t take away from the need to know defensive driving techniques. But as much as the bitter cold is starting to wear down our patience and energy, I’m still seeing beauty in it, or making the effort to at any rate. Soon enough the temperatures will warm and those damned potholes will emerge, as will scatterings of poopsicles along sidewalks and curbs and yards. Spring will be wonderful for the opportunity to start shedding layers, and frustrating in its dirtiness.
But then again, if spring is when life comes back, that suits the mud and the mess, doesn’t it? Creation is a messy process, after all.
I shouldn’t be getting too ahead of myself. We still have at least four weeks to go before we’ll see any sign of melting, and two of those will continue to be the Deep Freeze.
Tori L. Ridgewood 