Shoveling out after the big storm of 2016 I had a lot of time to think about stuff.

The work of shoveling out is kind of like dealing with a life problem.

If I address the situation of the snow right away, it is still light, and easy to clear. It will take some work and commitment to go at it right away, but it will also take half the time, and even half the effort.

Sometimes though, I can’t get to the situation right away, or it’s too cold and I just want to stay in, or I’m away and miss the easy time, or I just want to avoid it and hope it will go away, or I get started and it just feels too hard so I just give up and go back inside. After the first day the snow starts to have layers to it. The top layers can be pretty easy, the light snow is still easy to move. But the bottom layers are much harder, they are often frozen and take much more work.

The hardest yet is when there has been a thaw, and the snow has melted, and then refreezes. Now there is a crust on the top, and layer of soft easy-to-move fluff, and then the ice layer at the bottom. This can take real work. What would have taken an hour now takes three or four. Ouch.

When a life problem comes up, I have the same freedom of choice as I do when it snows. Deal with it now, or deal with it later. I’m a slow learner. Earlier seems to almost always make it easier.

PS – Another thing I found really useful digging out this time: the right shovel makes a big difference. I’m really glad for the life skills and tools that I’ve learned along the way, and am some lucky to be in a profession where I can pass these tools on to others who are interested!

-Sky