Dear Mother Nature...

An Open Letter To Mother Nature...

Dear Mother Nature,

Alright, that's enough.

Look, everyone in Massachusetts gets it: you are capable of causing havoc whenever you feel the urge. You win, we yield. I understand, as a life-long resident of New England, during the winter season snow is common and expected. That is why I did not complain when you hit us with that first blizzard. Also, I understand that last year we got off pretty light compared to some other areas, which is why I didn't complain about the second one. Or the third one. But now you're just pushing it. At least before the snow was light. But this morning it was over a foot of heavy, shovel-snapping snow. (And keep in mind that this is coming from someone who actually likes snow. I think it's very pretty to look at and shovelling it gives me a great workout. Coming in with a shirt so soaked-through that the gray has turned black is actually very satisfy, endorphin-wise.) The thing is, we all have a breaking point and I've reached mine.

This is officially ridiculous. It's not just the amount of snow that has broken me. It's how often it has been snowing and it's the snow on top of snow on top of snow. I just need a break. Every time I turn on the weather report I see those telltale little flake graphics on one of the days of the week. You're covering us with fresh powder every week and you're doing it in foot and a half increments. And when you aren't burying us under fresh snow you're keeping the average temperature hovering in the mid-20s, which means there is no melting and we can't even get rid of the last pile.

It's that last part which has been particularly distressing. At some point there is just no place left to put any more snow. The piles get so high that it actually becomes impossible to get snow over them, which means people stop trying and instead make the piles wider, which in turn makes the space between piles decrease with every new flake. It's a claustrophobic person's nightmare. Most two-lane roads in my town are down to being only wide enough for one car to get through at a time. I can only imagine what the narrow streets of the North End look like right about now, but I would guess they're nothing more than bike paths at this point.

Look, I know we've still got a couple more months of this and I'm not asking you to skip the rest of winter. All I'm asking is for a couple of (relatively) warm, sunny days. Just let me get my driveway down to bare pavement and take a break from clearing off my truck day after day. It would give me some hope that I might actually be able to play a round of golf before July and hope will help get me through the next couple of months. (Even though, with the rate that schools have been blowing through their snow days, the courses should still be empty in July because the kids will still be in school.) Oh, but don't make it too hot, cause I really don't like extreme heat either. Thanks.

Sincerely,
-Tom