City and Suburbs

Overhead shot by Emily over at Popville.

D.C. is still digging out.  C and I were talking about the difference between living smack in the middle of the city (during Snowmaggedon) versus the burbs (Blizzard2016/Jonas).  During 2010, we were able to walk out after some serious shoveling.  We pulled the kids on sleds in the middle of 19th street.  We were interviewed by local news.  We were able to get to the local stores and businesses (the ones that were open).  Eventually, we dug our car out, overnighted chains for the car, and with the help of neighbors we skidded our way out of our parking spot and tight alleyway.

In the burbs, we're still waiting for our street to get the first touch of a plow. We have dug ourselves out to the end of the driveway but we cannot get anywhere beyond that.  On the other hand, I have tons of storage and a pantry to keep lots of food on hand.  We did a big shopping trip right before it started snowing for this exact reason.  I love our mudroom where the boys can come and go and leave wet boots and snowpants right there without tracking everything into the house.  I pop everything in to the dryer in preparation for the next round.  We luge and sled on the front yard track that C makes every year since moving here.  The boys explore our front, back and side yards looking for animal tracks, icicles and huge snow drifts.

Really what it is is that our little family is so happy to have been able to experience both and at the right times in BB and DD's life.  At the younger years, we would not have sent them outside on their own in 3 feet of snow even if we had a yard.  They required supervision.  It was great to live in a very urban environment where everything was walkable and stroller friendly.  But now, they like to run and explore on their own and we have the space to allow for it.