Tag: snow

The Monday Morning Blahs…

It’s another snowy day here in Barrie, calling for continual snow until about 1pm today and that mean lots of shovelling for me.  I enjoy the workout aspect of snow removal but when your entire body is tired and sore, well it’s not something that I am looking forward to at all today.

I’ve challenged myself to a 100 straight days of running, and yesterday I hit the 7 day mark.  It doesn’t seem like a lot in the grand scheme of this challenge but it is the most consecutive days that I have ever run.  I am also starting training for an Ironman 70.3 race this summer which also requires a lot of swimming and cycling as well.  The combined toll of these three disciplines along with being a single father of four children, well I always have A LOT to do.  Cleaning the house, grocery shopping, laundry, paying the bills, etc..

It takes a lot of mental energy to keep all this up as well, add on the issues that you will always have raising teenage daughters.  Wow, it’s been a tough weekend that has left me physically and mentally exhausted.  Waking up this morning, I didn’t sleep very well and am not sure how I am going to get through what today has to offer.  Continued web site creation for a startup baking company that I am trying to launch, based on Sugar Cookies.

North West Bakery – homemade Sugar Cookies made with love proudly serving Simcoe County and the Greater Toronto Area.

The snow is still falling…

As I type that a smile washes over my face.  I know that I can do this, I know I can take care of everything that needs to be done today and when my head hits the pillow tonight I will have completed a lengthy to do list and a warm sense of satisfaction will wash over me as I drift off to sleep.

Afterall, as a fellow blogger said this morning, “Do sharks complain about Monday? No. They’re up early, biting shit, chasing stuff, being scary. Reminding everyone that they’re a fucking shark.”

Thanks Amy, Amy Bishop Fitness I choose to be a shark.

The Joining Driveway Dilemma

I live in Central Ontario, and I would often comment to my wife at the time when we would drive up here to visit them just how much snow fell throughout the winter.  I am six five in height and often the ends of driveways were taller than I was.  Just crazy.

Five years ago we moved up here and bought a house that had a four car driveway… I never did get a snow blower in the four winters that I lived there and man o man did I do a lot of snow shovelling.  Like ridiculous amounts of shovelling, see below…

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All done by hand!

Now I live just down the street my old house and I share a driveway with a neighbour.  I have never had a shared driveway before in any of the places that I have lived.  So what is my morale obligation when it comes to shovelling the driveway?

How much of a good neighbour do I need to be?

This lady is a single mom, with two young kids… okay stop right there.  There have been a man/men over on a regular basis so I know that she in not living the single lifestyle.  And I am ONLY saying she has help shovelling the snow.  And in this day and age woman can do anything that men can right?  Should that not include snow removal?

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As I was taking care of my half of the driveway I had several thoughts…

The lady has never been neighbourly, at times doesn’t even say hello in passing.  Our only other interactions in the last few months has been, can my kid jump on your trampoline when she first moved in… and do you have a wine opener?  That’s it… I jokingly laugh as I type this as I was never the neighbourly type myself until Jodi changed my thoughts on what a neighbour should be.

The other thought that stood out was at the tail end of my time was at my old house, Danielle on several occasions only shovelled HALF THE DRIVEWAY leaving the other half untouched.  Like fuck you, I am only taking care of myself.  Despite every time I would do the whole thing, every time… it was such a slap in the face.

 

And my final thought as I was finishing up was if I do this now at the beginning of winter do I set a precedent for the rest of the season.  Free snow removal?

It was such a tough decision…

…. I shovelled her driveway.  Took less than five minutes, it was a good shoulder and back workout and I will have helped put a smile of this ladies face when she comes home today.  That in itself is good enough for me.  Go put a smile on someone else’s face today.