Mid-Winter Blues

I've got 'em bad.

Woke up to another flood in my house. Spend my "two hour delay" chipping away the ice in my window casings.

Put a heavy bag of sand and a shovel in my car to drive over sub-par roads to work. Forgot that I took my computer-work bag out of the car when I loaded the tools for winter. Saw two accidents within a car's length of me while drive on a hilly secondary road on the way to work. Arrived at work in once piece but with no computer or grade book.

Work. Students nice and cloudy, as we are all creatures of routine and haven't had one in weeks. Plus our classes were short and choppy to accommodate the condensed school day. Teachers in a similar fog.

After work visit to Home Depot. They're sold out of loose ice melt for the nylon sausage dam treatments. Drive to Acton and Ace has more pellets. Unsure whether to make ice-melt sausages or just chip ice. Debate it while I activate my new bank card. Old one had been hacked. I noticed it, my bank did not. Groceries for kids and myself. Lenora with special requests as she's home with a fever.

Home again. Lenora less flushed and able to eat. Frank rakes the front and side roofs, while I shovel, chip and rake the sun and upper back roofs. Nice way to visit on two different levels together outside.

Make dinner after I've cleared the entire roof and most of the ice. The wonders of the right tools: hammer, rake, and shovel. Exhausted.

Check work email, as I was without during work (1st time in 12 years I've forgotten my laptop). Usual lists, alerts, queries and reminds. Then I see one of a parent. I know I should wait to read it until tomorrow but read it anyway. Saccharine sweet and very aggressive all tied up in a 4 paragraph letter. How will this student manage in college without the parent advocating on their behalf, I sit and wonder. Then I realize, they don't have to. The umbilical cord stays attached via texting and FaceTime.

As I write this, I think I hear the sardonic drips collecting in my kitchen again. Perhaps, I'll just go to sleep...but we all know I won't. I just keep on plugging along to the sound of the Mid-Winter Blues!

Good night, fellow winter weary folks, G'night.