Weather Not

The forecast for the day before Thanksgiving called for snow, which was a sharp contrast to the 60-something degree weather of the past couple days. Although it doesn’t always, the weather delivered as predicted. And as usual, the timeline kept shifting, which made planning anything in the country's second hilliest city a moving target and guessing game.

Will I be able to get to my 9 a.m. chiropractor appointment in Fitchburg? (Yup. Began to rain/snow/snizzle at 9:40 as I was leaving the office.)

Can we meet at 10 for breakfast in Leominster as planned, or will the roads be too bad? (We did, they weren’t.)

Will we be able to do some errands after breakfast as planned? (Yes. The less hilly hills of Leominster were navigable.)

Will I have time to visit my storage unit across town and grab my snow boots? (Yes, except I couldn’t find them in the new spot I put them when I recently rearranged stuff. Arrrgh.)

Will Nancy, Darlene and I be able to meet at 4-ish for girls’ late lunch/early supper, or will the roads suck? (We did, and they did.)

Will the reunion gathering at 7 p.m. (and reason for requesting the night off from work) happen, or will it be delayed/cancelled? (Cancelled. Stupid snow. Looks like a TV night after all.)

Will I be able to get back home on snowy mount South Street after the supper gal pal powwow? (Yes! The roads were better at 7:30 than 4:30, all the way until I arrived in my own driveway, got stuck on the plow hump of thick, heavy snow, and had to fetch a shovel and dig my way in.)

When will it stop snowing? (Who knows? As of 10:30 p.m., it was still falling steadily in tiny flakes, having cycled through variations of wet snow and sleet, and already accumulating four to five inches.)

Welcome to New England, where we grow to be flexible, hardy, a little stubborn, and keep going through all sorts of weather. Where a snow brush stays in the car practically all year long, because you just never know. Where you work on the season’s personal best time each time automobile snow removal is required. And where it’s so damned pretty when it snows, even when forced to view it from inside the house, possibly in the dark, because the beautiful mess has pulled down tree limbs and wires and taken the power with it.