Blessings

“You don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”

Bob Dylan

The sun is finally out and we have two feet of snow on the ground. The city worked all night to plow out the side streets. My problem is that my garage opens onto an unplowed alley, so I have no idea when I will be able to get my car out to the street.

Today, I plan to walk to the local business district two blocks away and try to find an ATM machine. Cash is the only thing I didn’t think to stock up on before the storm. Once I find a machine, I have to hope that the store is open and that it has money in it because the people who stock ATMs haven’t been able to get out, either.

Being snowbound lets you know quickly how much you like your own company. I’ve been fine for two days, but the thought of a few more days of solitude with my cats doesn’t exactly thrill me.

Normally on Friday mornings, I walk down to the Tattered Cover bookstore in LoDo (about a mile away) for banana bread from their coffee shop. I can’t get there today with all the snow. I’m reasonably sure they will be open today, but the bakery truck may not have been able to get there, even if the workers were able to get to the bakery to make the bread and other goodies.

This kind of storm affects all businesses, large and small. The malls are reopening today and will try to make up the two days of lost sales. In a week or so the snow will all be gone and forgotten. Meanwhile, I keep reminding myself that I’m much better off than those 4,700 people who were stranded at the airport overnight Wednesday. I’m safe, warm, and well-fed. I have power for my television, DVD, computer, telephone and stereo. Millions of people in the world would die for that.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved

Winter Wonderland

In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer. Albert Camus

The weather forecasters have been warning us for a week that a potentially BIG snowstorm was headed our way. Now it’s here. It started just after I woke up this morning and will continue until noon tomorrow, bringing us as much as two feet of snow. Not my idea of a good time.

I ran all my errands yesterday in anticipation of having to stay home today. I filled my car with gas, stocked up on caffeine-free diet coke and bought walnuts so I could make some Christmas goodies during the blizzard. I also stopped at the library to pick up the DaVinci Code movie, which will come in handy while the networks show an endless succession of reruns. There’s a stack of firewood in the garage in case my power goes off and my cell phone and laptop are charged. My breakfast with Kathy and Jane will have to wait until another day. Today might be a good day to reread Laura Ingalls Wilder’s stories of winters on the plains during the pioneer days when they had to tie a rope around themselves tethered to the house to avoid getting lost on the way to the barn. That should make me count my blessings.

One of the great things about working at home is that you never have to fight rush hour traffic; the flip side of that is never getting a snow day. I have papers to grade, classes to prepare, and a workbook to write. I am also working on a short story about, ironically, being snowbound at Christmas.

None of this may get done, of course, because like Anne Morrow Lindbergh, I may be part bear. As she said, “the instinct to be half asleep all winter is so strong in me.”

Things will clear up by Friday, although the snow is likely to stick around long enough to bring us an unusual white Christmas. Meanwhile, I’ll settle in with my cats, light a candle and pray that everybody makes it home safe tonight.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved

Overstuffed

"Out of clutter, find simplicity." Albert Einstein

I’m a packrat. I admit it. I save everything and have a hard time getting rid of anything. I still have close to 400 record albums that I haven’t played for many years and I don’t even want to talk about my book collection.

My clutter comes to light when I decorate for Christmas. I have about five times as many ornaments as I can actually use on my little five-foot tree. When I bring out the other decorations – the Santa collection, the teddy bears and the rocking horses, I have to put away vases and toys and knickknacks to make room for them.

This year, I SWEAR, I’m going to use this switching out activity to get organized. I’m tired of living in Dogpatch. I have this vision, if I don’t clean up my act, of people dreading my death not because they’ll miss me, but because they’re afraid they’ll be responsible for disposing of all my STUFF.

People tell me that getting rid of things is a soul-cleansing experience. I’m holding onto that thought. While I don’t think I will ever adopt a minimalist approach to life, I’m remembering these words from Immanuel Kant: "Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life." I’m looking for wisdom.

©2006 Dixie Darr. All rights reserved