Winter has finally arrived in Buffalo, NY. There was 8″ of snow on the ground this morning in my northern suburb. How do I know it was 8″? It was to the top of my boots, and my boots are 8″ high.
Anyway.
Hubby had gone out last night and shoveled the drive, and it only snowed a little after that so there was no need for either of us to shovel again this morning. I did need to brush 8″ of snow off my vehicle, however.
As I was brushing off my car, I glanced over and saw the neighbor‘s 12-year-old son scraping her car. Which is fine, of course, except that I know she doesn’t work, and never drives her son to school, so why couldn’t she do it herself later? The kid was obviously going to be late for school.
I’m 63 years old and I clean off my own car. I even manage to shovel the driveway if hubby isn’t around. The neighbor is only in her late 40s or early 50s and does not have any physical disabilities. She’s just lazy. As far as we’ve seen, she does absolutely nothing to maintain her property (maybe that’s why she has rats, and no one else does?).
Next thing I knew, the kid got into the driver’s side seat, turned the car on and began running the wipers and playing with the controls. WTF? I’d like to think that Mommy did, in fact, come out and drive her kid to school, but I seriously doubt that. Maybe the kid was going to drive himself to school? Wouldn’t surprise me, and I didn’t stick around to witness any further foolishness.
Although it might have been fun to watch her (or him) try to get that foreign subcompact with the nearly flat tires through the 8″ of snow still on her driveway, as well as the more than 8″ at the apron where the plow had gone through. That alone would have made my day.
Such is life in the snow belt. As much as I love ranking on my loony neighbors, I’d gladly give up the fun if it meant no snow. Snow is pretty, but it’s a pain in the …
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Image by Cordelia’s Mom
Cordelia's Mom, Still 
Snow…it has become far more beautiful when I no longer have to follow a schedule. ❄️ ☃️❄️☃️
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I can definitely relate to that!
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Oh, but, CM, this is what I have been waiting for! I’m lucky. My car is in a garage. And my husband snow plowed last night so if I wish to heads toward Chestnut today, which is a very real possibility, I have the luxury of backing out of a garage in a snow free car, driving on a plowed driveway. Ah, Life is good! Speaking of …. GOOD for you for shoveling! I KNOW how heavy wet snow is, and that snow is not a light fluffy snow as my photographs depict. Stay warm!!! ❤
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I’m fortunate that my husband is still alive and capable of doing the shoveling and snow-blowing. Usually, I only have to do a little of it – and now that I have an all-wheel drive vehicle, I don’t even worry about the end of the driveway after the snowplow’s gone through. I must say, though, that I kind of enjoy shoveling when I have to do it – it’s good exercise and there is some satisfaction in having gotten the job done all by myself.
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(Smiling) I enjoy shoveling too. I understand about the satisfaction of getting a job done, and done well. Way to go, CM!!!! ❤
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I’m usually around to keep our driveway clean. For the past several years, I’ve managed to get the garage/workshop reorganized to get two cars inside. I hate giving up the workshop space, but not as much as I hate cleaning snow off my car. If I’m out of town, my wife can do the driveway, up to a certain point but neighbors have also helped in the past. I look forward to retirement when I can just let it snow.
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Amen to retirement, Dan. I don’t want to move to Florida, but I’ll be perfect content to just sit inside my WNY home and watch everyone else deal with the snow.
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CM, I guess that there is that one mother in every neighborhood. One that truly is neglectful of her household: a bother for her neighbors and who neglects her children. I am sorry she lives next door to you. It would be so helpful to have some sort of looking glass to allow us to know just what our future relationships might be when we make those important decisions about household and employment, or love and worship. Neighbors are a source of salt in open wounds.
When I consider all the people who would love to have children free of entanglements such as the the invisible scars of past bad parenting I am upset and become dismayed. When biological parents with just enough legal rights to mess with a present positive family situation do so claiming their “love” motives their action I become enraged. Reaching sexual and reproductive ability is not approval to do so. Apparently your neighbors do not appreciate the gift the were given. Clearly they are not aware of the honor and responsibility that comes along with this gift.
Does anyone ever call whatever your local
governmental agency I refer to as Child Protective Services? I think a situation with a 12-year- old driver, living in a single family home with rats where you live in such a cold climate is untenable. I also think you should definitely continue all training to protect yourself and your household.
I am so proud of you, CM. It takes a lot of determination, effort and skill to shovel snow. In my past, I would pull the shoveling is a boy job, I am a Disney Princess Act. I didn’t know that real true snow shovels existed until I was I’m my late 30s. When I moved to 5 acres in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Garden shovels, the only resource I knew of, made shoveling my childhood driveway a challenge. In Seattle, snow is not a big thing until it is, and then not very frequently. My father who had plenty of tools, never had a snow shovel. We had a short driveway, I am pretty sure our neighbors did not have this wonderful tool either
Voldemort, Kidlet’s other parent, bought an extremely cheap snow shovel when we moved to Connecticut. I used it even as it began to break, and replaced it with several others. Almost immediately I became chief snow-shoveler for my household. It was the only activity I left my child alone while I did it. I parked her in front of the Disney Channel.
Voldemort attempted to be manly. A Californian and frugal, and born with the heart of Ebeneezer Scrooge at fully-closed purse, he was also too cheap to buy appropriate boots, clothing gloves, and such. A highly educated accountant, from the best universities in America, with an incredible work experience, he has had a career in public accounting and been employed in powerful positions for international corporations . Penny-smart and dollar-stupid, over and over again. IRL. Every time we moved to warmer climates he tried to throw out the snow shovels. I would put my foot down. Every time we moved to colder climates, he would be amazed to find our property cleared.
When he left me, for his mid-to-creepy-a$s-old-age-crisis-of-chasing-women-out-of-his-ability-to-catch, he wanted to split all the goods, including the snow shovels. He used
I reminded him he he wanted to toss them out at most moves and told me they were my problem. And that he whined about my need to keep them to other people. I mentioned every time we moved he used his vast accountant skills to include them as my possessions, unfairly heavily weighted I thought.
And when he used Kidlet as a leverage and then a weapon to improve his position in his Divorce War against me, I took the snow shovels and exited the family home in a suburban neighborhood. He took the gift of a child and scarred her, she will never be the same, to hurt me and ruin my reputation in a community he had prevented me from participating in and establshing relationships. So some of those people think I a horrible mother like your neighbor because he took my only child, who has “an issue” I had fixed as a parent with the help of peer acclaimed professionals. Those who are my friends know the truth. Even though I know I’m not a bad parent despite what my former neighbors would say, zip am fairly sure your neighbor is a horrible parent.
I have moved twice since that dreadful sort of eviction by someone I should have been able to trust. I finished a master’s degree and am working on a doctorate that will never come to fruition. Which is okay, as I love learning again. I have a Vestibular Disorder, which may be serious. Which scares me, a whole lot. I live in a first floor condominium now, one I purchased for myself. I never have a need to shovel snow anymore. I think I might just book a plane reservation to come and shovel some snow at your house. Don’t worry. I won’t come in, but I still have those snow shovels. They represent a great deal to me. I love to shovel snow. I’d love to shovel snow for you and Puppy Cody.
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The town police are well aware of my neighbor and her kid and his friends. It’s just a matter of time before Social Services is called in, or before one of the kids gets hurt (they were up on the roof a couple of months ago, with no adults around), or before either Mom or junior wind up in jail. I’m just waiting it out and trying to keep them on their own side of the fence.
I’m sorry about what you went through. I would never judge someone just because he or she lost a custody battle – that happens all the time. I only judge parents on how I actually see them interacting with their offspring.
The way the climate is changing, you might want to hang onto those snow shovels. It could snow anywhere in the country, at any time, these days.
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We are still down in the sunbelt and I just know what’s awaiting us at home. Argh! I do not envy you your snow. Wake me in the spring.
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Maybe it will melt by the time you return. We can only hope.
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Wonder if the kid just wanted to do that?
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No, judging by the look on his face, the kid definitely did not want to do the shoveling and scraping. He may have wanted to actually drive that car, though.
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Ah…so that is what rain looks like when it DOESN’T melt…..hm, interesting.
😉
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Well, when you look at it that way, I guess I’d rather have the snow. At least with snow, I don’t get mud.
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So true!!
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Nothing worse than a lazy no account neighbor!
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You’ve got that right. It’s especially annoying when everyone else is working hard to maintain their properties. I’ve even seen a 85-year-old neighbor (using a walker) out shoveling his walk and mowing the lawn. No excuse whatsoever for a healthy 49-year-old woman. I’m OK with her asking her son to help with shoveling and mowing, but starting the car? I don’t think so.
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