Waiting for the Thaw

I have been living in the Poconos since 2005. And I have to say, in that time, the winters weren't too bad. Yes, we've had snow. Sometimes a small amount of snow, others 6 inches or more. There's been our fair share of frigid temperatures, too. But overall, it hasn't been to bad. In fact, there were a few winters during that time when most of the storms were coastal, and our relatives in New Jersey and even Virginia were hit harder than we were.

Enter winter 2013-2014.

This has just been brutal. Brutal. And not just in the Poconos either, based on the updates from family and friends via social media. Thanks to the "polar vortex" -- a term I had not heard before this year -- there were too many days to count when it was warmer in Anchorage, Alaska than the northeast.

My son has had 10 snow days already. There's only 1 left in the calendar before they start taking Spring Break or in-service days away. He's had two early dismissals, and more delayed openings than I can count. In fact, the last time he went to school for 5 full-days was in December. It's going to be a rude awakening when he has to go to school for 5 full days again.

I took the above picture a week ago. Since then we had a foot of snow during the day on Thursday, another 8-10 inches overnight into Friday morning. And yesterday we had yet another 4 inches.

I took the above picture yesterday. If we don't start to thaw soon, the icicles are going to grow into the snowbank on the porch roof.

And if another 8 years pass before we have another winter like this one, well, that'll be all right by me.