If you wait for the perfect conditions, you’ll never go.
Everyone has some type of fear. And I have a few strong ones.
I do not like being lost (or feeling lost). Just today, I was driving around in a neighborhood to see if there were any houses for sale and I noticed that the GPS didn’t recognize any of the roads because it was so new. It was just my little arrow blinking on a sea of tan. My heart sped up just a little as I realized I was going to have to pay very close attention because all the roads looked identical…and I have no sense of direction!
I do not like driving in bad weather conditions…snow, rain, fog… I often joke with my family and friends that I only like to drive when it is sunny and 70 degrees outside.
I do not like slow, old elevators. My heart pounds at an excessive rate when it makes weird noises, or goes to slow, or my dear husband decides to jump in the air mid ride.
I do not like to make left hand turns into traffic.
As strange (and annoying) as these fears are, I can attribute something in my life that has caused each one. But I don’t let these fears cripple me. Though my friends and I may joke with me (and I may pray for a green arrow instead of just a green light to turn left when at an intersection) and they may pick on me when I have a panicy expression on my face in an elevator, I power through.
So, I knew moving to Bozeman I’d have to drive in snow. There will be no snow days. That’s right. NO SNOW DAYS. I will not have the joy of waiting for the snow to melt before getting in my car. Our realtor’s teenage daughter has NEVER had a snow day. I laughed when she told me that and recalled a snow day I’d had in middle school or high school when we didn’t even have any snow. They were just calling for it and we were out for the day.
The first Monday I was here, I watched as kids walked home from school. (Another difference about life here in Bozeman. Kids in Marion do not walk home from school. You either ride the bus or someone picks you up.) I smiled as I watched one little boy (who looked to be about 6 or 7), bundled up, munching on a snowball as if it was an apple. Other kids were walking in groups kicking snow and jumping in the big piles that had been plowed. Yep. The days of laying in bed praying for that 5 AM phone call that says there will be no school today are gone!
Snow here is SO DIFFERENT than snow back in North Carolina. It is light and fluffy. It’s like very, cold, white sand. You can hold it in your hand and just let it fall back through your fingers.
And unlike back home, the snow here just sort of stays. It really hasn’t gotten much above freezing since I’ve been here. The only way I’ve really seen snow “disappear” is by driving on it. People have said that the snow piles in parking lots will be here well into spring/summer because they get so big and it just takes so long to melt.
As for the driving, it really hasn’t been that bad. Don’t get me wrong. I have not actually driven while the snow is coming down. In fact, when it snowed on Christmas Day I made the executive decision for us just to wait til the next day to go anywhere. But, I’ve had no choice but to drive with snow on the roads.
Almost all roads get scraped here. You can even be fined if your sidewalk is not scraped so most HOA’s take care of that. It seems like magic. I’ve never seen anyone doing it, yet I wake up and I can see concrete to take Tippet out.
All of the main roads have been in great condition while I’ve been here…even after the two snowfalls. This picture was taken this morning. By this evening, all of that slush was gone.
Then you have some of the side roads. Again, they’re scraped but they still have a layer of snow but it is very packed down.
And then you have the neighborhood roads. This is our road. It does get scraped as well but I have yet to see the asphalt. This is actually much better than some of the neighborhood roads I drove on today. I could tell they do not get scraped. But, being a big girl…I drove right on through.
One HUGE difference about driving in the snow here compared to Marion (or Boone!) is that it is flat (I’m honestly not sure where people sled here…maybe down all the snow piles?!). I didn’t understand how we could be in the middle of the Rocky Mountains and be flat…but it’s almost like living at the bottom of a cereal bowl. There are mountains all around but Bozeman is essentially in the valley.
Matt gave me strict instructions before I started driving. He made sure I knew to:
1) brake far away from where I want to stop
2) take turns slowly
I have slid to a stop a time or two and had my back end swing a bit when I made a turn, but all in all I’ve done well. I have slowly stopped being the granny who was driving 15 below the speed limit. Now, I’m only 5 below…!