About Today ...

All was quiet here until just a little while ago. Both kids were working on a writing assignment while I was making lunch. Then I hear a rather shallow scream followed by running feet. My daughter has just come to inform me that some "old" woman is walking up the center of our yard and she has fallen down. I frantically run to the door and open it to find a woman that's probably 10 years older than me (yes, that must be ancient to an 11 year old!) on her hands and knees, buried in the deep snow. And might I add, struggling to get up. She has on boots, but is only wearing a short-sleeved sweater. No gloves, no hat, and nothing else to indicate that it's 21 degrees outside with 2 feet of snow on the ground. I can tell she's embarrassed and I immediately apologize that our front walk isn't shoveled.

Now listen, no one uses our front walk. Ever.

Anyway, she tells me that she was unable to get over the huge mounds of snow surrounding both sides of the driveway. Oh, you mean those 5 and 6 foot mounds that we've been shoveling all winter because it won't quit snowing and it won't warm-up enough to melt? Those mounds of snow? Mmm hmm. The only way she could approach our house was straight through the center of the front yard. Do you even know how far back our house is from the street?! Did I mention we live on a hill?

She was huffing and puffing, trying to catch her breath. I felt just terrible. Who was this mystery woman? Why no other than a U.S. Census worker hand-delivering our 2010 Census forms. We don't get mail delivery here (only a post office box), so they must be hand-delivered. She thanked me for being home. I guess! After all that, I would hate to think she would have had to trek back down the yard only to attempt it again later. As I stood there listening to her explain what I need to do (after answering that I don't have anyone living in my basement), she kept looking back to where she had just hiked from. I could tell she was trying to figure out how she was going to get all the way back to the street. "Come on in!" I said. "Oh, but what about my boots and all this snow?" "Ah, that's OK. A little snow won't hurt anything." At that, she came in, thanked me, walked through the house, out through the garage, and down the perfectly cleared driveway.

Just think, yesterday I was wondering what to write about today.