Before I moved to Columbus, Ohio, I had spent several years in Northeast Florida, and was extremely unfamiliar with any real form of seasonal change. It was an adventure then when we relocated to a state with a genuine fall, and a genuine winter, too! When it came time to adjust, we were in quite a bit of shock.
It took me a long time to grasp how to manage winter, and while thinking about that, I thought I'd share some of my more ridiculous moments and lessons in snow and ice so far. Every day seems to be a battle of sorts, but I think that I am slowly getting the hang of things.
Lessons in Winter
- Flip flops aren't really a feasible window scraper, but are awesome to use as tread for your tires to get out of the snow!
- No matter what your dad tells you, using hot water from a coffee pot to break the ice around your car door and windows IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! The first time I used this method, I was absolutely elated. I wasn't going to be late for work! After the third or fourth time of doing it and immediately getting a giant crack in my windshield, I decided to just retire the coffee pot from any outdoor adventures.
- They do not mean table salt when they say to "Salt the ground". Additionally, table salt does not work to melt the ice, as I learned over. And over. And over.
- Snow plows are your friend... Until they mercilessly bury your car in ice and snow that looks impossible to get out of.
- If you have nothing but an ice scraper and a heel in your car, and you find yourself buried inside of that snow, use the two items like a boat paddle and in about an hour, your tires will be able to get out. Your shoe will have seen better days, and your arm will ache, but whatever. FREEDOM!
- Whenever you think the grip on your shoes are awesome and you cannot fall on the ice because of said super-shoes, that's when you do. Down stairs. Right on your rear.
