Howard County has a new snow plow tracker. Now I would like to have some snow to go with it. I'm not alone. HCPSS students are already advocating for snow closings. Hope springs eternal.
But how much snow? Hmm...
Enough to test out the new snow plow tracker, I guess. Enough for one really good play-in-the-snow day for kids. Enough for neighbors to work together and help each other out. Enough for hot chocolate with marshmallows, photos on Facebook, and a brief cessation of everyday cares and woes.
But not too much.
How much is too much?
When the same three streets are always the last to get plowed out. When low income families who rely on school meals are running out of food. When neighbors bicker over shoveled out spaces. When emergency responders struggle to reach citizens in crisis. When my widowed friend runs out of chocolate for hunkering down and/or shoveling money to pay enterprising young neighbors to shovel her out.
Yes. We would like snow. But just the right amount of snow, the perfect snow. The kind of snow that brings a community together. Not the kind that drives us apart, inconveniences us, or puts us in danger.
There are all kinds of weather events, but maybe what makes the difference is us, and how we react.
Here's hoping for the perfect snow--the kind that encourages our better selves.
But how much snow? Hmm...
Enough to test out the new snow plow tracker, I guess. Enough for one really good play-in-the-snow day for kids. Enough for neighbors to work together and help each other out. Enough for hot chocolate with marshmallows, photos on Facebook, and a brief cessation of everyday cares and woes.
But not too much.
How much is too much?
When the same three streets are always the last to get plowed out. When low income families who rely on school meals are running out of food. When neighbors bicker over shoveled out spaces. When emergency responders struggle to reach citizens in crisis. When my widowed friend runs out of chocolate for hunkering down and/or shoveling money to pay enterprising young neighbors to shovel her out.
Yes. We would like snow. But just the right amount of snow, the perfect snow. The kind of snow that brings a community together. Not the kind that drives us apart, inconveniences us, or puts us in danger.
There are all kinds of weather events, but maybe what makes the difference is us, and how we react.
Here's hoping for the perfect snow--the kind that encourages our better selves.
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