Let me back up...for the last couple of days, we’ve had this impending snow storm threatening most of the greater mid-west. Milwaukee was to be the just on the north side of the storm and then, at the last moment, the storm took a northward turn and we were to take the storm head on.
In the days prior to the snowstorm, I made my trip to Dick’s Sporting Goods and finished purchasing snow-bibs and snow boots for my wife and daughter and snow-bibs for one of my sons. The rest of us (the other three) had our stuff, or the rest of our stuff already. As this is our first winter in Wisconsin, I’ve been slowly buying these necessities in preparation for the “Wisconsin snows”, but the time finally arrived when I had to buy the last few items en masse so that the entire family was properly fitted. (I had bought mine as a Christmas present to myself from my family so that I could enjoy Lambaugh Field and and the Packers win over the NY Giants on Dec 26!)
After going to be last night listening to the howling wind (and having to practically drag my 140 pound dog outside for one final bathroom trip), we drifted off to sleep knowing that we didn’t have to get up at the crack of dawn because school had been canceled for the children and I, the scared southerner, had closed the church. But we also went to sleep not knowing if we would actually get any snow or not. Afterall, during the last Wisconsin “blizzard”, we actually LOST five inches of snow because it rained more than it snowed.
Much to my delight, when I woke up, there was snow...and a lot of it! Now, I live in Mequon which is just north of Milwaukee. According to the “unofficial” measurements that I took in my driveway and in the driveway of the church, we received about 21” of snow in 3 days. Of this 21”, 14” fell in the early morning hours of February 2, 2011. I think the “official” total was 18.7” at the Milwaukee airport for the 3 days. (Then, we had some terrifically awesome snow drifts. Some were 2 feet and some were almost 6 feet tall!)
After breakfast, my entire family, all five of us, donned our snow-bibs, snow boots, heavy coats, thinsulated gloves and toboggans and went out into this winter wonderland! The kids and my wife went sledding on the already large mounds of snow that had collected from the previous days plowing of the church parking lot and were made even bigger by the over night snow. The boys found huge icicles that they carried around like walking sticks. Our dog was playing with sticks, digging in the snow, chasing the kids and absolutely loving where he was.
After sending the boys inside because they had almost as much snow inside their coats as they did outside their coats, my wife, daughter and I walked around the church building for an “inspection” of the property. When we made it to the back of the building (which is actually designed to be the “front” entrance) we spotted the six-foot snow drift along the glass windows of the building. I wanted to investigate further. Against my wife’s better judgement, I climbed over the drift and was able to get behind the drift to the building itself. My wife followed along behind me, and then there came the dog! Then we had to go back...And we were faced with a climb up instead of a gradual incline. We were able to safely get back over the drift, which in the place where I “climbed” over was more like four feet now. However, when I did, we saw my daughter laying on the top of the portion of the drift that was 6 feet tall. Then my wife laid down beside her and me beside my wife. The dog just looked at us like we were crazy. We laid there, looked at the beautiful blue sky and talked for about 15 or 20 minutes. (The snow-bibs and coats did a fantastic job of keeping us warm!)
We finally came in and as I looked at our back porch and the clothes strewn all over them and the snow covered boots laying everywhere, I knew that I was the luckiest man alive. I was looking at the signs of a happy family...something that I truly hadn’t seen, or maybe taken the time to notice, for a really long time. I felt as I was Kevin Spacey in American Beauty
and I was having my “American Beauty Moment” and fortunately, my wife was as happy as I was!See, all of this was taking place on her birthday. I didn’t get her a big cake or a fancy card or even an extravagant present (her boots and bibs were her present!). But what we shared today was a day enjoying our kids, the life that they have...that we have together as a family. I realize over and over how happy I am, how proud I am, how thankful I am to have the life that I have, to have the family that I have, to be where I am.
Sure, I could complain that we had so much snow that we were snowed in or that it was 70 degrees in somewhere else and that they had beautiful weather (even though I think this weather is beautiful!). Or, I could complain that the snow plow company didn’t come plow our drive until almost 5pm or that they still haven’t plowed the church parking lot, but what’s the point. What is so important that I have to go out and do something or been seen by others or be perceived as being the priest that is out doing the ministry of the church when my first ministry is acknowledging the gifts we are given, caring for that which we have around us, and stopping long enough in this hustle and bustle we call life to give thanks to God for all that I have and what he calls me to be: A husband, father, friend, confidant, stick-thrower, shoe-tier, coat-buttoner, hood-putter-upper, family loving, loved by my family and blessed child of God.
And while I’m writing this at nine o’clock at night, most all of this took place before noon today. And if you can believe it, the rest of the day just got better.
Thank you God for a wonderful family, for putting me in this place, and for allowing be to be where and who I am.
I realized that as I sat on top of that snow drift, I actually sat on top of the world!
I had a great day. Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife. I hope you enjoyed “your day” as much as I did.
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