![\"IMG](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/IMG_2525.png\" "\\"IMG_2525.png\\"")
The jury is still out on that.<\/p>\nThe jury is still out on that.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s snowing lightly now. Yesterday all we got was a slushy wet mix that\u2019s turned to mostly ice overnight.<\/p>\n
For me, what we got yesterday is the most hated of Winter weather. It\u2019s heavy, and difficult to clear. You\u2019re tempted to just leave it and hope that it goes away. But you only do that once. If you leave it, you\u2019ll need a pickax and wonder if it would be legal to use dynamite. \u00a0The slush freezes to the road and driveway and then everything is a skating ring. That stuff takes forever to melt on its own and it typically doesn\u2019t melt until you\u2019ve get many days of sunshine and temps above 40\u00b0 F.<\/p>\n
So I was outside in the rain\/sleet\/snow for about 2, maybe 3 hours doing the shovel work to clear as much as I could. In a way, doing the work was therapeutic. When I came in I was soaked through but not really cold. I think I was working out frustrations and anger against an intractable force.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I wasn\u2019t angry or frustrated at the weather or anything, I was just being physical and doing something constructive.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It turns out that even moderately strenuous physical activity does more to get my head on straight than just about anything else. Sure I can be physical anytime, the difference is, that I always feel like I should be doing something else if I\u2019m walking or working out. Crazy as it sounds, taking that time for me seems selfish and undeserved. Fighting to keep the street and driveway clear is one of the few times when I\u2019m really in the moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I guess it\u2019s a matter of the snow keeps falling, the ice keeps forming and there\u2019s nothing personal about it. It just is.<\/p>\n
Over the past two years or so, banging my head against the job market has taken on a personal feeling. \u201cWhy do these people not like me? Why can\u2019t I get traction? What is wrong with me?\u201d Those questions eat at you. After a while it becomes personal, frustrating, and super depressing.\u00a0In part it\u2019s because you have no human interaction and therefore can\u2019t figure out what your\u2019e doing wrong. There\u2019s no body language to pick up clues from.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I think that\u2019s why so many people may have stopped even trying to find a \u201creal job\u201d. It\u2019s easy to sink into depression wondering what the point is. Sure, you\u2019ll maybe get a job but you\u2019ll have to deal with a large group of people. Many of those people are looking to be offended about something all the time, and some of those are looking to cash in on a nice lawsuit retirement plan. For someone like me, walking on eggshells all the time is exhausting. The vagaries of human interaction just complicate getting the job before me completed. I prefer to do what we\u2019re paid to do and go home at the end of the day.<\/p>\n
Snow and ice are pure. You can see what you need to do, and what you need to do better. For me it allows the opportunity to direct any frustration and anger in a constructive direction and if I call the snow a name there\u2019s only the whispering hiss of ice meeting ice. Mother Nature isn\u2019t going to be offended, no one\u2019s feelings will be hurt, and the snow keeps falling.<\/p>\n
I actually prefer to be outside alone when I\u2019m clearing snow. I don\u2019t have to speak, or interact with anyone. There\u2019s a purity about it and when I come in, there\u2019s satisfaction in a job well done.<\/p>\n
Because the neighborhood is calm and quiet right now, I can see rabbits and squirrels wandering around fearlessly untroubled by humans. The scene is serene and peaceful. One of the neighborhood dogs just ran by, she\u2019s a shorthair and bundled up in a nifty yellow sweater. She\u2019s more interested in catching snowflakes than chasing the bunnies or squirrels. Her exuberance makes me smile. I wish I could always live in the moment like dogs do.<\/p>\n
The local forecast says the snow should stop in an hour or so. After that the likelihood of snow drops to 30% for the rest of the day. I\u2019ll have another cup of coffee and some breakfast. My dog is still being sleeping beauty in the middle of the bed. When I start working in the kitchen he\u2019ll be up trying to mooch something, then he\u2019ll notice the new snowfall and be a 2 year old running in and out all day long.<\/p>\n
My day is going to be busy, I\u2019m sure there\u2019s going to be at least one game of \u201cChase the snowball\u201d in the yard. Then I\u2019ll head out to shovel snow and close my exercise and activity rings.<\/p>\n
Maybe the snow will hang around to add to the holiday cheer<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The jury is still out on that. It\u2019s snowing lightly now. Yesterday all we got was a slushy wet mix that\u2019s turned to mostly ice overnight. For me, what we got yesterday is the most hated of Winter weather. It\u2019s heavy, and difficult to clear. You\u2019re tempted to just leave it and hope that it … <\/p>\n