"Lift from the knees!"

It was inevitable; the snow needed to be shoveled.

We received His and Hers shovels as Christmas presents this year--it was a big joke since we were left completely unprepared during the December blizzard...who's laughing now? It was time to put them to work.



(There are no actual pictures in this post because I was helping shovel. Go figure!)

Mike made it home safely from work thanks to a co-worker's truck. He spent the better part of yesterday shoveling the sidewalks of his station, so he wasn't overjoyed when I suggested we get ahead of the game and clear out our driveway. "Can I eat lunch first?" Yes. I let him eat lunch.

I have to say one thing. I love 99% of our neighbors. They were all out at 11:30 am today, shoveling and chatting and laughing with one another. It was very Mr. Roger's neighborhood.

Our next door neighbor saw me outside alone clearing the steps while Mike was getting his coat on and asked if I needed any help; when I told him that Mike would soon be out to help me he said he assumed Mike was still at work and was worried that I was home alone during the storm. We laughed as I recalled that we had no shovels last time and now we had two, and he said to let him know if we needed any extra help. So sweet.





And then there's Joel. I may have mentioned Joel before, but if not, Joel is the not-so-great neighbor who watched as we STRUGGLED to get Mike's car unstuck last snowfall. Once we threw in the towel he came over and laughed at us and then tried to make nice.

Joel was out again, this time with his whole family. He threw out a friendly "Hello!" to which we both promptly ignored. Another greeting followed--I caved and threw him a wave. He started chatting and making awful jokes--"Didn't we just do this a month ago?"-- and I uncomfortably laugh. He goes on talking to us like the best of friends until..."So I've forgotten your names. "

I. Swear.

I grit my teeth and RE-INTRODUCE myself and Mike. He points out the not so pleasant other members of his family, and then waves hello to another neighbor who turns his back and walks away. I guess he's not winning any popularity contests.

I will keep on trying to make nice! I'm just glad we were able to get the driveway cleaned up this time. Now if only they would cancel work!