Being from Indiana, I used to love the snow. I didn't even mind the cold so much, because with the cold, usually came snow. Snow storms meant a couple of things for me, all of which were awesome. Now, to clarify, when I say it's snowing, I'm not talking about a 5" or less snow fall, that is more of a dusting. I'm talking about SNOW! 6+ inches at least, and that meant 3 distinct things: no school, breaking out of snow gear (which I've always loved), and sledding! Sledding in Indiana? Isn't it too flat? Well the answer to that question is yes. Fortunately for me I grew up across the street from Crooked Stick Golf Course, which has ridiculously deep bunkers and has quite a few long and steep hills. And even though sledding was forbidden on the course, it seemed to always take a good long time before they sent anyone out there to chase you off. Plus you can see them coming from far away, so plenty of time to make a getaway.
Being the dedicated athletes that we were in my hometown, snowdays almost never meant practice was canceled, which was alright to me. I loved wrestling practice, and not having to go to school just meant I could have fun all day, then go have some more fun and workout. I have also always enjoyed driving in snow, and our high school parking lot was so darn big, the donut possibilities were endless.
Of course as time goes by and I get older, snow becomes more and more of a pain. Shoveling the snow was always Dad's job, and sometimes Mom's, and it was something you never even consider when you're young. Even when I was 16, 17, or 18 and in ridiculous shape, I didn't mind shoveling snow. To me it was a great workout and a chance to sweat off a few pounds. In college at W&L, I could usually just walk to class from wherever I was living, and in the probably less than 5 times it snowed here in 4 years, it was never deep enough that I couldn't just drive my Jeep right over it. We also got to do some sledding. Sledding at age 6 is pretty fun, but sledding at age 22 is even better! So again, at this point, I still love the snow.
I got married and bought my first house at 23, and I think that winter was the beginning of the end of my love for snow. I had a 23-mile commute to downtown Indianapolis for work, and if traffic already didn't make it take 45 minutes, snow certainly would make it take twice that long. Plus now I HAD to shovel all that snow myself! I was in somewhat (way) less shape than I was in college, and now everything in my body just seemed to hurt. Sweating used to be a good thing, now I'd have to go take another shower and change clothes, and you certainly can't really wear snow gear around the office. During one particularly bad snow, the entire city of Indianapolis decided to leave work at the exact same time as me, and it took me 4 hours to get home. LITERALLY! I have never experienced road rage like that before, especially considering it took almost an hour to get out of my parking garage. Awful. I hate snow at this point in my life.
This is now my third year living back in Lexington, and not once has my snow shovel even moved from it's hook in the shed, and again I'm saying to myself, I love the snow! One inch here and the whole town shuts down, and my 5 minute commute to work is even quicker, because I know how to drive on it. Of course, I am driving back home to Indy for the Christmas holiday saying hey, I hope it snows, because now I don't have a commute, or a driveway to shovel, and it's once again fun. Now the day I left this year was the same day that Lexington, VA gets the biggest snow storm in I don't know how long, recording over 20", and I'm not there to enjoy it! Of course I'm not there to shovel it, drive on it, or deal with others dealing with it, so I'm not there to not enjoy it either.
I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder, but I think that I am back in love with the snow, but I reserve the right to change that opinion the day my snow shovel moves. Although I do have some sweet snow gear that hasn't been worn in a while, and the neighbor kids have a nice sled for my sloping backyard.....
