Winter in Vermont

A typical winter day:

8:15 am: Leave for work. Decide on the fly whether to pack riding clothes and drive, or set aside riding clothes and plan on walking home to change, grab a snack, and pick up the car. Check work email on phone, start swearing, decide to walk in case I get stuck at work until very late and there's no chance of heading to the barn.

8:30 am: Arrive at work. It wasn't that cold, right? Not too bad! The last 2-3 minutes were not a lot of fun but the end was in sight then, so totally do-able.

9:00 am: Check the weather forecast for the barn. Maybe it will be warmer and less snowy another day this week? Yeah...not so much.

1:00 pm: Start to feel caught up and on top of things, even caught up enough to properly eat lunch and read a non-work book for a little while. Victory!

1:15 pm: Wow, it's snowing a lot. Like, a lot.

1:45 pm: Ha! It's almost stopped entirely. Pfffft.

2:15 pm: Re-evaluate goals of making it to the barn, pending resolution of current work crisis.

2:30 pm: Crisis resolves, but it's snowing again...cars look like they're moving just fine down State Street, so if they can do it, I can, right?

3:00 pm: Hmmm...snowing harder...

4:00 pm: We're good! It's stopped!

4:45 pm: Declare surrender and shut down computer mid-composition of another email, pack up as quickly as possible, walk home in the dark; it's snowing again.

5:15 pm: Changed, fed, car is dug out of the snow, even feeling motivated and hale and hearty. Text boyfriend dinner options.

5:16 pm: Run back inside one last time to retrieve another pair of gloves/warm hat/snack.

6:00 pm: Arrive at the barn. Realize that wasn't the safest drive ever and reflect on the way in which you can tell the exact inch where town lines end and state roads crews take over. Oh well, there now.

7:30 pm: Finish ride, sweating underneath layers, frozen at extremities, close up the barn just as the sweat starts to freeze.

7:35 pm: Drive back to barn and triple-check all stall doors, all lights, and front barn door.

8:00 pm: Arrive home, start dinner, change into pajamas and, if really lucky, relax for an hour or so with a cup of tea and a book before bed. If unlucky...open up the computer and back to work!