Winter!

It snowed this morning! Ok, ok, it didn't stick, but still, first flakes! I am such a 5 year old about snow. I know it won't get me out of work, or anything, but it's still magical. There's actually a lot of things to love about snow.

In this house, snow=money. Irv does snow removal, in the off season, so those are tiny dollar signs falling from the sky. When he's not home, especially at night, it's like a huge slumber party. We do all the stuff "Daddy" disdains. Alden and I order pizza with peppers and onions, sleep on the living room floor, and play video games all night. I usually wind up baking something, or making a huge "snow day" breakfast the next morning. I've turned it into what was once a very lonely and worrisome time, when I was pregnant, or when Alden was an infant, to a fun tradition. I do miss him, when he's gone, still. I can't sleep in our huge cold bed, which is why I opt for bunking on the living room floor, but since Alden has gotten old enough to hang out with, my inner child digs these snow days and nights even more. One nice thing is that he's not "over the road" much anymore. He's a heavy equipment operator, which means he hangs around in the shop, cleaning the parking lot there, in a big loader, and loading the trucks with salt. In the meantime, he hangs out in the warmth of the building, reading and answering the phones. Good deal. It's a big weight off my mind.

I'm really looking forward to this winter. I have a great vibe about it. Last year was very tight, financially. I don't know, we just weren't prepared for everything, and it was rough. This year, The Season was good, and we took extra pains to save up, and prepare for the economical worst. I'm proud of myself, and the family, and all the thing's we've managed to do to save us money. We put away a good chunk, to carry us through, and it feels good.

Irv generally gets depressed around October, about the onset of winter, and the ending of The Season, but this year, he seems more optimistic, which makes for a nicer vibe all around. No anxiety, no fighting, no real dark days around Halloween and his birthday, like usual. One thing that helps is that he has plans. He's been busy as all hell revamping his garage, making it into a functional, heated, mancave. He can go out there, and listen to his music, putter around, build things, break things, or just go be a smelly, busy man. He never really had that, before. He's always had the garage, but till recently, there were no lights or heat out there, and it was just a dank storage area. I think he needs projects, and now he has a place to do them. He's got lists and lists of future projects, about 10% of them will ever see fruition, but as long as his mind and hands are busy, during the off season, he's a happy guy. When he's happy, I'm happy, and when mama is happy, EVERYONE is happy. It's a self-perpetuating cycle!