Today I felt strong in the outdoors as my husband and I dug out my car from a snow bank! We had gone to my parents' empty-until-spring house to retrieve some snow shoes for a friend to borrow, and I took one look at their driveway and said, "That looks like a good place to get stuck. I'll just walk up to the house."
I returned ten minutes later to find the car spectacularly buried, and my husband shaking his head, muttering "I don't know what I was thinking..."
My standard trick of putting the floor mats behind the tires for extra traction did not work, in part because the snow was packed up like cement under the front half of the car. Thank goodness for my trekking poles, which came in handy for breaking up the snow pack.
There we were, each one of us laying in the snow on each side of the car, stabbing and scooping to break up the snow and then move it out from under the car.
I was supremely proud of my self control in not saying anything... credit to a counselor a few years ago who asked me, "Is it more important to you to be right or to make progress?"
After about 30 minutes of scrabbling on the snowy ground, we could see daylight in all directions under the car, instead of a wall of snow. We had a few false starts with spinning tires before we finally got the floor mats tucked under the tires just right, and breathed a sigh of relief as the tires finally took purchase and we backed out.
One hot shower and set of dry clothes later, I'm feeling proud that we got out of there on our own without a harsh word between us (other than the occasional "F#@>!" muttered in exasperation).
And a reminder to my fellow residents of the north: A shovel, bag of cat litter, and some snow pants are never a bad idea to keep in your car!
Jen, this is absolute gold. A true heroine in the wild moment—equal parts survival skills, strategic silence, and well-earned expletives.
I love that you and your husband tackled this together (even if it involved some impressive synchronized snow-scooping). And honestly, using trekking poles as excavation tools? Genius. This is exactly why we carry outdoor gear everywhere—you never know when you’ll need to turn a hike into a rescue mission.
Glad you made it out, and I so appreciate the PSA—because yes, fellow northerners, this is the sign you need to go toss a shovel and some cat litter in your trunk. Stay prepared, stay warm, and stay just on the right side of smug when you’re the one pulling someone else out of a snowbank next time ♥️♥️♥️
I really felt like calling in sick tonight…It’s my last 12 hour shift before I leave for vacation on Thursday(driving to Florida). In the last 12 days I have worked 11 of them. The hospitals have been crazy busy with Influenza A patients and they are short staffed. The extra hours will be really nice as this Florida trip is my Christmas present for my adult kids and grandkids. They are flying to Florida on Saturday but my husband and I are driving to save a little $ on only having to get one rental car…but the extra $ from these shifts will help pay for excursions and splurging on eating out if we feel inclined.
Anyways, I feel like my backpacking trips have helped me build some grit and resilience for pushing through hard things. Sometimes on a long distance hike, the day might not have beautiful vistas and scenery…it can sometimes feel like trudging, or it’s rained multiple days in a row…
Needless to say I didn’t call in sick….I’m pushing through this last shift…to reach tbe Summit.
Funny, I’ve been sick this week with some sort of crud (hopefully not the flu you mentioned, @adrienne!), and I’ve really been struggling with that balance—when to push through and when to give myself permission to stop.
I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you to show up for work when every part of you wanted to crawl back into bed. That takes serious strength. And I love that you’re holding onto the long game—knowing that those extra hours now will make your trip with your family that much sweeter.
For me, my life is already pretty slow these days—between not being able to drive and the sub-freezing temperatures, I’ve been mostly homebound. But getting out this past weekend, traveling up north to ski ungroomed trails (a first for me!), and spending time with a dear friend who loves the same things I do (books, women & the outdoors—and who also happens to be my business partner ;) ) was absolute salve for the soul. It reminded me how much I need those moments of challenge, adventure, and connection—especially when illness or routine makes life feel small.
Here’s to heroines doing hard things—even when that hard thing is just showing up.
Welp, this topic spoke to me!
Today I felt strong in the outdoors as my husband and I dug out my car from a snow bank! We had gone to my parents' empty-until-spring house to retrieve some snow shoes for a friend to borrow, and I took one look at their driveway and said, "That looks like a good place to get stuck. I'll just walk up to the house."
I returned ten minutes later to find the car spectacularly buried, and my husband shaking his head, muttering "I don't know what I was thinking..."
My standard trick of putting the floor mats behind the tires for extra traction did not work, in part because the snow was packed up like cement under the front half of the car. Thank goodness for my trekking poles, which came in handy for breaking up the snow pack.
There we were, each one of us laying in the snow on each side of the car, stabbing and scooping to break up the snow and then move it out from under the car.
I was supremely proud of my self control in not saying anything... credit to a counselor a few years ago who asked me, "Is it more important to you to be right or to make progress?"
After about 30 minutes of scrabbling on the snowy ground, we could see daylight in all directions under the car, instead of a wall of snow. We had a few false starts with spinning tires before we finally got the floor mats tucked under the tires just right, and breathed a sigh of relief as the tires finally took purchase and we backed out.
One hot shower and set of dry clothes later, I'm feeling proud that we got out of there on our own without a harsh word between us (other than the occasional "F#@>!" muttered in exasperation).
And a reminder to my fellow residents of the north: A shovel, bag of cat litter, and some snow pants are never a bad idea to keep in your car!
Jen, this is absolute gold. A true heroine in the wild moment—equal parts survival skills, strategic silence, and well-earned expletives.
I love that you and your husband tackled this together (even if it involved some impressive synchronized snow-scooping). And honestly, using trekking poles as excavation tools? Genius. This is exactly why we carry outdoor gear everywhere—you never know when you’ll need to turn a hike into a rescue mission.
Glad you made it out, and I so appreciate the PSA—because yes, fellow northerners, this is the sign you need to go toss a shovel and some cat litter in your trunk. Stay prepared, stay warm, and stay just on the right side of smug when you’re the one pulling someone else out of a snowbank next time ♥️♥️♥️
I really felt like calling in sick tonight…It’s my last 12 hour shift before I leave for vacation on Thursday(driving to Florida). In the last 12 days I have worked 11 of them. The hospitals have been crazy busy with Influenza A patients and they are short staffed. The extra hours will be really nice as this Florida trip is my Christmas present for my adult kids and grandkids. They are flying to Florida on Saturday but my husband and I are driving to save a little $ on only having to get one rental car…but the extra $ from these shifts will help pay for excursions and splurging on eating out if we feel inclined.
Anyways, I feel like my backpacking trips have helped me build some grit and resilience for pushing through hard things. Sometimes on a long distance hike, the day might not have beautiful vistas and scenery…it can sometimes feel like trudging, or it’s rained multiple days in a row…
Needless to say I didn’t call in sick….I’m pushing through this last shift…to reach tbe Summit.
Funny, I’ve been sick this week with some sort of crud (hopefully not the flu you mentioned, @adrienne!), and I’ve really been struggling with that balance—when to push through and when to give myself permission to stop.
I can only imagine how hard it must have been for you to show up for work when every part of you wanted to crawl back into bed. That takes serious strength. And I love that you’re holding onto the long game—knowing that those extra hours now will make your trip with your family that much sweeter.
For me, my life is already pretty slow these days—between not being able to drive and the sub-freezing temperatures, I’ve been mostly homebound. But getting out this past weekend, traveling up north to ski ungroomed trails (a first for me!), and spending time with a dear friend who loves the same things I do (books, women & the outdoors—and who also happens to be my business partner ;) ) was absolute salve for the soul. It reminded me how much I need those moments of challenge, adventure, and connection—especially when illness or routine makes life feel small.
Here’s to heroines doing hard things—even when that hard thing is just showing up.