Last night I went snowshoeing. Sounds adventurous, right? It really was. But it was purposeful, too.

Snow dumped at our cabin last week, and the power went out on Tuesday or Wednesday. The big storm really was a big one! The generator didn’t kick on, so we had to check it out. Plus, a weekend in the snow seemed like a lot of fun!

Alyssa and Garrett headed up earlier on Friday, and thank heavens they did! Highway 88 was pristine; no snow on the road at all. The berm, however, was pretty solid at the entrance to our property. Through a random series of events, our neighbor’s son got a snowplow guy to plow a bit off the highway so he could park at the entrance, leaving just enough room for Alyssa’s Jeep. Fast forward a few hours, and Bob and I roll in about 8:30.

The kids had already made the trip to the house multiple times, with three dogs. No power = no heat. With the addition of snowshoes, they were able to blaze a trail from the road to the cabin. So….. we met at the nearby gas station, 2 minutes away, transferred ONLY what we could carry. No food, no suitcases, no crocheting… Garrett drove us back to the entrance, parked, and we began the trek. It was after nine at this point, and with only a crescent moon, it was pretty dark. The snow sparkled in the flashlight’s beam, and it wasn’t as cold as I expected. Always a bright side, even in the dark!

Now, I am not the most athletic person. And snowshoeing can be challenging in the daylight, with all the right snow gear. In my work clothes, which thankfully included (waterproof, but by no means warm) boots, and heavy jacket, it wasn’t as bad as it could have been. An adventure it truly was!

Bob took off ahead to get to the generator and check it out, so Garrett and I trailed behind. G probably could have kept up with Bob, but who would have picked me up when I fell? Three times….. I stepped on my own snowshoes, one fell off (and was fixed by Garrett), then the other one fell off. Once I was just standing and fell over.

But you know what? I laughed. And got back up. And kept going. Not that there were a lot of other options. Garrett was patient, and we both kept our senses of humor. If you can’t laugh about some of life’s trials, well….. I don’t know what. I just know I chose to laugh and kept going. So succeeding in just about anything is 98% attitude, and 2% perseverance. Having a perseverant attitude helps, too, so maybe success is 100% attitude. Hmmm… Luck and circumstances might play a big part in that, too, so I might need to redo my math. Thankfully I teach that, so I will work on it!

And as our 1/2 mile trek continued, I couldn’t help but ponder the challenges of the Donner Party. No, that’s not as random as it seems. My fourth graders finished their Patty Reed’s Doll projects yesterday. It’s the story of the Donner Party, told by a doll belonging to Patty Reed, whose family, among others, joined the Donners on their journey to California. Anyway, through a series of unfortunate circumstances, they also had to trek through heavy snow. Not at all like what I traveled through last night, but it gave me some perspective to the difficulties they faced.

Sometimes it’s weird to be a teacher and have ponderings so random, but not really so random.

So now I am sitting in the kitchen, waiting for something. Bob is plowing the road, Garrett is assisting, and soon perhaps the snowmobiles will be ready to go. Then we can head to the gas station, get our food and belongings, and I can start making breakfast. Well, it will probably be brunch, but that’s OK. I have coffee, music, heat, and company, and am making the best of my time.

Wow! This is much longer than I expected. I hope next time I have some Capybara Flag Revolt updates.

Thanks for reading, and until then!