SNOW CHECK

I went to sleep knowing that overnight we were going to be having our first snowfall of the season. The weather forecasters had predicted 2 to 3 inches so I really wasn’t concerned.

When I woke up the next morning and went to my bedroom window to take a peek, I let out a long sigh.

Instead of the predicted 2 to 3 inches, we got triple that. “Oh great.” I grumbled as I grabbed my robe off the foot of our bed and went to the kitchen to make a cup of tea.

My son Alex was already in the kitchen. “It’s pretty.” He said as he pointed to our backyard.

He wasn’t wrong.

Tying my robe I looked out the kitchen window and could see that all the limbs on the bushes and trees were still covered in snow. I could hear the neighborhood kids already outside playing. Their laughter almost making it hard to still be upset about what the day ahead looked like for me.

Almost.

“I hate shoveling snow.” I said as I opened the cabinet and reached for my tea cup.

My husband Steven came into the kitchen already dressed for the weather. “I’m going out to start up the snowblower.”

“We’ll be out in a minute to help shovel the sidewalks.” I began filling the kettle with water. “Oh, wait a minute!” I cried. “We have lunch plans with Kathy and her daughter Rikki!”

Steven pulled his phone out of his pocket. “I’ll text Rikki and let her know we’ll have to reschedule.”

“Tell her we’ll need a snow check.” I laughed as I put the kettle on the stove. “You know, it’s like a rain check only with snow!”

Steven shook his head. “I got it.”

Several moments later Steven’s phone chirped, “Rikki says that we can just push it back to dinner instead of lunch.” He looked over at me, his eyes wide.

“Ah. That’s so sweet.” I said with a laugh. “She doesn’t think of us as old.”

Alex looked confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Rikki actually thinks we can dig ourselves out and still want to do something beside lay on the couch for the rest of the day and share a tube of Bengay!” I couldn’t help but laugh. “That really is sweet.”

Steven shook his head and held up his phone. “So what do you want me to text back to her?”

“The truth!” I said dropping a tea bag in my cup. “We’re old, we’ll be doing physical labor for about an hour, maybe two and that’s all we can manage for today.” I began pouring the hot water into my cup. “Oh, and don’t forget to asked for a snow check!” I laughed. “I’m really starting to like that phrase.”

“I’m not saying snow check.” Steven said as he began texting back.

“Ah, you’re no fun.” I laughed. “I’d watch out or you might get a snowball thrown at you while you’re snow blowing!”

“See?” Alex said. “You’re not that old if you’re talking about having a snowball fight.”