Woweeeee! What a week and what a storm or should I say
storms. Since I wrote you last week I have had two snow
storms, the first brought one foot of snow, the second
brought two and a half feet.

Last Saturday night, I came home from Church at 6:30 PM, put
my car in the garage and then the garage door locked only 1/3 down.
The motor kept making sounds as I hit the button to close but the
door itself would not budge. I tried to pull it down and then push it
up (as it was too low for me to move my car out of the garage) but no
luck. I remembered that once I had to do it manually so I looked for
the cord to pull it out of electric mode. Since my new vehicle is a
small SUV, it was too tall for me to reach the cord without a ladder.
So I proceeded to get a ladder and yank on that cord. Still nothing.

I came in the house and called my oldest son, Steve. He is the one
that always helps me when I have problems with it . He suggested
that it sounded like something had jumped a track so I could use
a broom handle to try to and get it free. I tried that even though
I could find nothing to hit, I just kept hitting everything with the broom
handle, it worked for one half second and then froze again. He lived three
quarters of an hour away and he offered to come up and check it
out but I knew he and his family would be coming the next day to
celebrate Christmas so I told him I could wait. He asked again if
I felt safe with the door open and I told him that I would probably
get some cat visitors who like to climb all over my car but other
than that, I felt safe.

Sunday morning I woke to discover we had received a foot of snow
overnight. The weather man had not forecast it. I live on a private
road so the town does not plow our street. What could I do? How
would I get the street and my driveway cleared for my family at
10 AM? I called the two young men who do my lawn and also
do the shoveling and spoke to their mother. I explained my
dilemma to her and asked if her boys would be willing to come
and make the path clear for my family. They are contractors and
have only a certain amount of time to clear all of the areas they service.

Within 10 minutes, one of the boys (young men) was plowing down
my street and started shoveling my driveway and sidewalk. What
angels they are to me, they take such good care of me. I could tell by
the truck he used that he had interrupted his contract work just to
help me out. My family arrived safely as it seems only my town
which is on a high elevation had received so much snow. Of course,
you know I had snow in my garage also.

My son checked out the garage door opener and managed to get it
free but said I would probably need a new motor, or part. As long
as I don’t raise it so high that the lock engages again, I can get my
car in and out, opening and closing it manually. It is a Craftman’s
and someone from Sears will be here today to check it out.

We had such a wonderful visit with food and presents. They were
able to visit for two and half hours which was such a treat. To have
the whole family together at once is a rarity. His two older children
have jobs and school so they are not always available. The youngest
is almost two so she is always with them.

The Northeaster was predicted thank God, so we were all prepared
for it. The schools closed and many businesses. The snow started on
Tuesday night and continued all day Wednesday. Thursday morning we
awoke to two and a half feet of snow. It was the fluffy kind and the
sheer volume made it quite dense as the newest snow put weight
on the snow already on the ground and made it quite heavy. Of
course, Mother Nature was having fun sculpting the snow with
her wind so there were many drifts.

Yesterday afternoon we finally got our street plowed out but
I was still in seclusion because I could not walk anyplace
because although I had kept my stoop clear, the snow was much
too deep for me to be able to even walk. When it is higher
than your knees, how do bend your leg and knee to lift it up
to walk. Facing me as I stepped onto the stoop was a wall
of snow that was up to my shoulders. By suppertime last
night, my driveway and sidewalk had been cleared by my
angels and yet I cannot feed my birds. The snow is too high
to be shoveled to get to the feeders on both sides of my house.

I have never faced this dilemma before so maybe I will need to
somehow put the birdfood on plates or something that I can
just place on the snow. Fourteen years of living here and
I am still learning new ways to live here. This winter so far
has been a doozy and it is only just begun.

The lake is so quiet, there is no activity. There is actually
too much snow even for the snowmobiles. Being the
fluffy snow, you sink to the bottom so you cannot
even walk on it. No ice fishermen either. People were
using snowblowers to clear the ice on the lake when we
got the storm that was only a foot. It is now too deep to
be able to use a snowblower so I guess the activities will
wait for Mother Nature to either pack it down with rain
or the sun will eventually make it denser and less thick.
The dock is even under the snow, you cannot see it.

There were no deaths that I know of and many of
our people are sleep deprived trying to get our
community up and running again. Even the Post
Office was open during a Northeaster, can you
believe it? The mail was even delivered to some
places where the mailboxes were available.

There is another community that has come together
to honor their fallen. I am talking about Tucson.
This tragedy has brought our nation together again
in compassion and love, but why does it have to be a
tragedy to bring us all together? Learning about all
these individuals and their private lives, has brought
to my mind just how much good is created by
everyday normal people as well as the well known.

These fellow victim Americans represent the totality
of the USA. All ages, faiths and cultures were gunned
down in this senseless act. No one was “chosen” but in
a way, they were symbols of what America is all about.
I believe that is why our hearts were so touched and
our compassion went out to the families and friends
of these beloved citizens. Bravery of the individuals
who responded so quickly and without thought of
any safety for themselves are such a shining example
of humanity and its response in times of crisis.

I don’t know if you listened to the President’s speech
in Tucson but he gave a voice to what each of us was
thinking and feeling. A voice of the multitude of
people who live in the USA and the willingness to
help others in times of need. The grit and bravery
shown was not foreplanned, no one knew this was
coming so they responded from their hearts.

Here is the link to listen if you missed it.

President Obama’s Speech At Tonight’s Tuscon Memorial Service
www.youtube.com
?12 January, 2011 NBC News

I know there are some people who will see nothing
good about what the President had to say. They believe
he is only self serving and not to be believed. Just listen
to the words without any preconceived ideas and I
believe you will hear the truth of who we are as a Nation.
If you watch him and the people who have been touched
by this tragedy you will feel the love and pride that is America.

WE CREATE WHAT WE BELIEVE.

If we believe in the good of ordinary people and the
American Way, then that is what we will create. I am
choosing to create a country where the response will
be one of compassion for the victims and the honoring
of those who served in whatever capacity they could.
Without planning and only with the thought of helping,
let us be proud to be part of that American Heritage.

Let us hold onto the hope and belief in her country
as well as her aspirations to make a difference in this
world that Gabrielle displayed.

AND….A CHILD WILL LEAD THEM.

Love and Light,

Mary Grace
www.TheWoundedChalice.com
www.TheWoundedChalice.com/blog
[email protected]

PO Box 403
Wales, MA 01081, USA
413-245-3977