Official Newspaper of Eddy County since 1883

The calm after the storm

This Christmas was definitely one to remember for some, and not necessarily in a great way. Some didn’t make it home due to the ridiculous weather we’ve been having. Others I know were sick with COVID, or influenza, or RSV, or some other unknown respiratory virus, so they resorted to rest on the big day.

We were fortunate. Everyone was healthy after a rough bout with sickness around Thanksgiving, and we only had to travel about five blocks to our Christmas Day celebration at my mother-in-law’s house. On Christmas Eve we ate too much, spent an ample amount of time on the couch watching football with my parents, and took in the candlelight church service at the Evangelical Free Church.

The build up to the holiday was much more hectic. We had five people sick between the Carrington and New Rockford offices the two weeks prior, and I made two trips to Fargo in less than stellar conditions to retrieve newspapers, because, well, Snowmageddon happened.

My college-aged daughter braved the winter road conditions on Monday, Dec. 19, and it took her three hours to complete the typically two-hour trip. And that was on one of the few nights that the state didn’t issue “no travel” advisories for our area!

Once Macey got home, my children baked holiday treats, cleaned the house and uncovered the driveway and sidewalks numerous times. The only holiday preparations I had to do were go to the store and wrap their gifts, which I did on Friday night. Just in the nick of time! Oh, my husband helped me make homemade peanut butter cups for my dad on Christmas Eve morning, his favorite! It was a labor of love.

I got just what I needed, a quiet and cozy Christmas.

Then we spent Monday digging out from yet another round of that crappy white stuff that fell on Sunday. Yeah, yeah, I know how the song goes, “I’m dreaming of a White Christmas,” but seriously, isn’t 45 inches more than enough? I knew it would be a winter wonderland after the first round in November. There was no need to.

Now, this weekend, when our family from Iowa is on the way, the weather appears to be cooperating. What a relief. But watch out for another round of winter, coming our way next week, the meteorologists say. Ugh!

Alright, Mother Nature, we know you’re almighty and powerful. Can you just give us a break now?

Tuesday was a glorious day. I walked around downtown New Rockford to do errands for the first time since the Nov. 10 blizzard. “I’ve walked three blocks, and I can still feel my face,” I declared when I arrived at the pharmacy with a fresh round of newspapers.

The car washes were once again open (good thing, because all that salt they have been putting on the roads is hard on my undercarriage), and all got a reprieve from the frozen grip of winter.

I will hope for more days like that coming soon in the new year.

Nationally syndicated columnist Danny Tyree also had something to say about our recent weather “phenomenon,” so folks, I’ll turn it over to him. His much more amusing column is printed at right.

Happy New Year, dear readers!