Please understand that this ridiculous winter is not gone, but for the fourth day in a row we haven't had to shovel before going out of the house, and there is actually naked pavement visible in the center of many streets. For the next six days the daytime temperatures will be above 32 degrees Fahrenheit, and there is no snow in the forecast. The mountain of snow on the corner is down from ten feet to eight (I do not exaggerate) which is still pretty substantial, but if I look out the window I can see the front door of the house diagonally across the street. I haven't had that view in a month.
The subway is running on a (relatively) normal and (fairly) reliable schedule again, which is one of those things you can only appreciate if you've gone through what we went through. We are excited about getting to work in under two hours these days. It's the same idea as not appreciating what it feels like to NOT have a toothache until you get one. We'll be taking all this for granted soon, I know, but meanwhile hope is beginning to stir.
For a while we consoled ourselves when we would get the piddling one to two inch dustings (yes, Washington, D.C. That's DUSTINGS!) by saying that at least it covered up the "dirty parts of the snow" and continued the illusion that a wicked wizard had imprisoned us in a perfect Christmas card. But now we are seeing "snert," which is very exciting. "Snert", for those of you who are not familiar with the term (and why should you be? A friend of mine made it up.) is a combination of "snow" and "dirt". It's ugly, but it's a stage, like adolescence, one has to go through to get to the good stuff. When the melting is complete the streets will be filled with grit and sand and detritus from God Knows Where, which has been hidden in these silly mountains for months. We will be tracking this stuff in on our shoes until Memorial Day. But eventually, once we can park on the street again, we will do that wonderful and frantic scramble to move our cars when we hear the rumble of the STREET SWEEPERS coming down the block. And if you think the first robin of spring sounds heavenly, you should hear THAT!
The subway is running on a (relatively) normal and (fairly) reliable schedule again, which is one of those things you can only appreciate if you've gone through what we went through. We are excited about getting to work in under two hours these days. It's the same idea as not appreciating what it feels like to NOT have a toothache until you get one. We'll be taking all this for granted soon, I know, but meanwhile hope is beginning to stir.
For a while we consoled ourselves when we would get the piddling one to two inch dustings (yes, Washington, D.C. That's DUSTINGS!) by saying that at least it covered up the "dirty parts of the snow" and continued the illusion that a wicked wizard had imprisoned us in a perfect Christmas card. But now we are seeing "snert," which is very exciting. "Snert", for those of you who are not familiar with the term (and why should you be? A friend of mine made it up.) is a combination of "snow" and "dirt". It's ugly, but it's a stage, like adolescence, one has to go through to get to the good stuff. When the melting is complete the streets will be filled with grit and sand and detritus from God Knows Where, which has been hidden in these silly mountains for months. We will be tracking this stuff in on our shoes until Memorial Day. But eventually, once we can park on the street again, we will do that wonderful and frantic scramble to move our cars when we hear the rumble of the STREET SWEEPERS coming down the block. And if you think the first robin of spring sounds heavenly, you should hear THAT!
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