Silly Mom Thoughts

Although I love winter and the holidays that come with it, when the weather turns cold I turn into a massive worrywart. I blame it on the fact that in the Northwest, we see snow only a few times a year and when we do, all hell breaks loose. When it snows, it usually happens overnight or early morning. By late afternoon it has all begun to melt (much to the chagrin of children who hoped for another snow day), but the melting snow soon begins to freeze into nasty, thick, and sometimes invisible, ice. Mayhem erupts in the streets as people attempt to skid their cars down icy roads that will probably never see the likes of street sanders. The pesky ice and snow last just long enough to cause a few days of craziness, and then it disappears as if it had never existed.

I believe part of my fear of wintertime also stems from my childhood. My dad, a semi driver for UPS worked the graveyard shift, driving huge rigs back and forth over snowy mountain passes, across state lines, every single night of the week. “Dear God,” we would pray at dinner while he was at work trudging through the snow, “Please keep Daddy safe on the road. Amen.” A simple prayer that both comforted me and scared me to my core. What if something happened and Daddy wasn’t safe on the road? I shuddered, and still shudder, at the thought.

So, for these reasons, I worry more than usual this time of year. I am thankful that Turk has a job where he can stay home and work if need be, which eases some of my worries. Still, though I get excited for snow in the forecast, a little part of me cringes with fear.