The last few weeks have been pretty dark for me. What with having to make the trip to help my mom and the problems I've experienced with my sister. The only good thing is that my mother has seen the light and does know that I am only acting on her behalf for her best interest and the fences are being mended but it is going to take some time.
However the fences will never be mended with my sister and myself and for that I am sorry. It didn't need to happen but it has and now we each will walk our own paths.
We were hit by a horrendous winter storm which dumped almost a foot of snow over ice and temperatures dropped to the single digits and zero with wind chills in the minus column. My daughter has been out twice and each time I worry as the roads are still ice and snow packed so are slick. She managed to get my grandson back to his house in town but his car is still here buried under a snow bank. She got out today to get a few more groceries as it looks as if we will be in hibernation for another week or more.
There again, that dark cloud is hanging over us as she has missed four days work this week and has no idea of what next week has in store. That and the discovery that the hot water tank in her trailer has developed a leak and she had to shut the water off. So she is carrying water and coming inside to use the facilities as she needs them. The cost factor to replace the unit is beyond what she can afford so our only hope is that they can reroute the water line to bypass the heater or maybe find a more reasonable solution to the hot water problem, such as a portable heater or inline, if such a thing is possible. If we can, we may even be able to hook up a small heater and build a special place for it since there is no room inside the trailer.
This was to be only a temporary living arrangement, but since she hadn't been able to find a job, it has become her home until such time she can afford to move out. So we have to keep things going so it does remain livable for her.
It just seems like every time we get things going on an even keel, something or someone comes along and kicks us down again. We've been knocked down so many times and keep getting right back up but it is beginning to show and it is harder each day to have the optimism we had before.
But as I told her, we are strong and we are not going to let this defeat us. We have overcome all the problems so far and we will overcome this one.
Today, we got an additional 3 to 4 inches of snow and they are saying we could see about that much again on Sunday and even a little more mid week. Enough is enough. I know winter has been bad all across the country and I'm not saying it is any worse for us but the difference is that we are not prepared for this kind of weather. We don't have the equipment to clear the roads as fast as they do in the parts of the country that have this kind of weather, nor is our homes as insulated or our pipes as deep so the cold really seeps in and frozen pipes are a problem.
I have had to go without use of my kitchen sink since Tuesday as the drain line goes into what is called a grease trap before it enters the septic and it froze up. It warmed just enough today so that it cleared and I was able to use the sinks again. I will remedy the problem before next winter as don't want a repeat if we happen to have this kind of weather again.
I've spent one night staying up all night to make sure the faucets didn't freeze up and the drains worked and other nights I've gone to bed early and got up early to make sure everything is operating as it should. My gas bill will be out of this world as I've turned up the heat to also help and it is normal now to walk into the kitchen or the bathroom and see the cabinet doors under the sinks open.
So it will be nice to see all this cold and snow and ice just go away and stay away so we can get back to normal living around here. The past years, since I've gotten older, I really detest the snow and I can live without it. I don't find anything pretty or beautiful with it. It is a ugly nuisance. As a kid, it was fun but I know now why my parents weren't happy about it.
I think I could stand the winter with the cold, even though I would complain as once I am cold, I just can't get warm, but when it comes with snow, then I really do hate it. I mean hate with a passion. I don't want to wish it on anyone else either but I just can't get excited over it or enjoy it as it is just trouble with a capital T.
So it is time for those dark clouds to move out and bring in the sunshine and give us a break.
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