The Land of Wind and Snow

I visited the land of wind and snow (i.e. my dad’s house) this weekend. And it was great! When I say my dad lives in the middle of nowhere, I am not kidding. I have posted pictures to help with the visual. They may not convey much because they are from my phone, not a real camera needless to say. I drove up on Saturday, even though I knew that there would be a good possibility of getting snowed in. And the windy Idaho version of winter did not disappoint. Saturday night the weather was good enough that I tagged along with my dad to a high school basketball game he wanted to go to. I haven’t watched high school sports for quite some time, so it was quite an adventure. I got my hand stamped on the palm instead of on top like normal because, during a momentary brain lapse, I thought because that is the way my dad had the lady stamp his hand, that was the way things are done in Idaho. They don’t do anything different than normal, my dad is just funny—I should have realized.

The wind started as we drove home. Blowing snow is quite mesmerizing when you’re not driving. When you’re driving in blowing snow you just really have to pay attention, so you don’t have the chance to get hypnotized. It’s too bad because it is kind of fun. And as predicted, we were snowed in until Monday. Church was cancelled, so I spent the day listening to the wind (although I have heard it much worse) and watching the wind carve the snow up like rock formations in southern Utah. I don’t love the wind, but there are moments, when I am safe indoors, that I like it because it makes me feel safe. Sometimes I forget that if we didn’t have houses, the elements of nature would get the better of us. We watched the Super Bowl—which also did not disappoint—and made lunch. You can't ask for much more in life.

Today was such a really pretty day; sun and snow. Since the plows had not gone through on Sunday, it wasn’t until today that I could leave. But before I did, I fully enjoyed my Snow Day! I helped my dad shovel snow, I went sledding down the drift in front of our house with a sled we used when we were kids (oh and I made my dad go sledding too!), we trudged out to the windbreak, we watched Psych, I read while my dad filled out his agricultural census that was due that day (so apparently my procrastination is genetic), and I had a good fit of laughs while reading about the Howard Dean campaign moment. Overall, it was perfect.

Snow is comforting. When it blankets the earth, and the sky and snow meet with nothing in between, things seem quieter. The entire world seems to unfold before your eyes and it seems like anything is possible.