Beyond

I hope I never lose my sense of wonder. If that makes me naive, then so be it.

Thursday 15 February 2007

what a wonderful world

Several things need to be established first to tell this story. (sort of like the 'whereas' clauses that lead up to the proclamation of an act of parliament or somesuch)
1. I do, despite its inconveniences, love a good snowstorm. It's the kid in me, I guess. It's one of my simple pleasures that warms me up inside, looking out the window as the storm rages. Being caught in one would be another matter, but I do get happy watching one.
2. My dear D surprised me for V-Day with an iPod Shuffle - this thing is amazing. It's about the size of a piece of mini shredded wheat (sorry, I can't think of another size comparison. It hides in the palm of my hand) and holds 100 songs. So I'll be changing the playlist a fair bit, but the size blows me away and in true iPod style the sound is great.
3. Our tractor, the all-purpose lawnmower/snowblower/lifter of heavy things, depending on the attachment, does not have its snow chains completely ready to go, nor is the snowblower completely hooked up. After all, we had not had any real snowfall to speak of yet and other things were clamoring for our attention.
4. We had, in a bit of forethought, not sold our push snowblower that we had at our pre-farm house. We kept it in case the tractor couldn't get going.
5. Yesterday Ottawa got 25cm of snow (by no means the most from this storm ... how are things down your way, goaliemom?), along with nasty wind from the north.
6. While I like the look of winter, cold and I are not good friends. We're on speaking terms, like we met once at the party of a mutual friend, but we don't send Christmas cards to each other. I like winter activity but don't like being cold.

So, after supper last night, the girls were set to the supper cleanup and I bundled up to try to get some snow clearing done before D got home and did it all himself after a long day's work. I took the iPod and out I went. And I've never enjoyed shovelling so much. I took the blower out along the laneway, and a couple of those songs that just get me into my happy place were on. So, while the blower went up and down the driveway, I guided it from behind and danced like an idiot. The dancing song was 'Holy' by Jason Morant (replayed multiple times), a song that I am absolutely in love with, and then I'd stroll along smiling while Louis Armstrong sang 'What a Wonderful World'. The wind and cold were felt but ignored in my own little piece of fun.

In the country, no one can see you dancing in your driveway. I was a bit sorry when D came out to relieve me of duty, though my cold face was telling me otherwise. Maybe it was just jealous that my legs got to do the dancing.

4 comments:

sue said...

Music makes all the difference, doesn't it? To be able to dance and sing during chores of the day takes them, and us, to a higher place. It's amazing how just a few notes of a song you know can calm your spirit, make you want to jump up and dance, or bring the tears to your eyes. I smile as I picture you dancing behind your snowblower.
I'm not sure how much snow we got... the blowing and drifts make it hard to tell.

Unknown said...

Haha... you dancing is kinda funny... I would bet that it looks more like some sort of "wiggle". :P

Jennifer said...

ipod's are lovely. although they help get work done, they prevent work too. while i'm painting the house, i can get caught up in a natasha beddingfield song, or i'm embarassed to say, justin timberlake's 'sexyback'. then the work just doesn't get done. but technically i'm getting a workout...wish i had a camera on you though...

Heather said...

You might find your ipod handy when vacuuming too. My children sometimes have to stand in front of me waving their arms in order to get my attention.