What do you do with a blizzard?

 Yesterday we got two feet of snow. Living up the canyon, you would think we would have the sense to have a four wheeler or tractor, or maybe a snowplow! But no. 

So here I was after a 2 foot blizzard. Snowplowless.  So I did the only thing I could do in such a circumstance. I complained. 

I put it off.  I looked at my neighbors driveways: they all had tractors and four wheelers and their driveways were all perfectly clear. They may even have a snowplow or two hiding in their garage. Couldn't they see me out here -a mom with five kids and a two month old baby?

 I started my snowblower, but the snow was too heavy for our puny blower. 

I started shoveling. I shoveled. And shovel. And shoveled.  I figured my neighbors were all in their cozy warm houses watching me use my puny shovel to tackle 2 feet of snow. I could see them in my mind's eye watching me while they sipped their cup of cocoa by a crackling fire. Probably laughing.

But snowplow or not, the snow was here, and my only option was to shovel. And shovel. And shovel. 

But while I was shoveling, I noticed the silence and the beauty of the frozen world around me. After a while, my kids came outside to play. We shoveled together. And then they built a cave from the large snow piles I had shoveled. They built two caves and joined them through a tunnel in the middle. And while I was shoveling I watched them and I knew that they were able to build their snow caves because of my efforts. 

Shoveling wasn't my favorite thing to do, but in doing so I made it so we weren't trapped at home, and my kids were able to make something beautiful from my efforts. 

After I finished, I jumped off the roof just for fun and landed in snow waist high! And then I went in to sit by the fire and sip my own hot chocolate while snuggling with my beautiful children. 

A snowplow or snowblower would be nice, but sometimes we need to rely on our own efforts. We don't need to blame the neighbors, we don't need to look for a way out. We need to roll up our sleeves and get the job done. In everything, we should do our best.