CityView Magazine

8 Februar y 2022 Mary Zahran, who prefers hiding chocolate candy instead of wine, can be reached at maryzahran@ gmail.com. other children in the neighborhood who are sitting at home wondering what they are going to do with their free time. Aer all, what is the point of having a giant, sloping backyard and an icy driveway if a bunch of overexcited children can't use them for downhill races? Perhaps the best part of being snowed in for any child is the anticipation of gorging on any and all kinds of snacks. Don't we all happily abandon the laws of nutrition the minute someone spots the first snowflake? Pizza, pancakes drenched in maple syrup, brownies, doughnuts, and endless cups of hot cocoa become the order of the day. It is a widely accepted truth that no one, not even the strictest parent, ever looked at a snowy landscape and announced that tonight's dinner menu would include boiled liver and Brussels sprouts. And what could be better, aer playing with friends outdoors in the snow, than knowing that Mom will be in the kitchen, making hot cocoa and chocolate chip cookies for everyone? Mom, not quite as enamored of snowstorms, sees the activities of the last few days in a different light. Not wanting to spoil the enchantment of this winter wonderland, she goes into her bedroom and hides in the closet so she can be alone from time to time. She also occasionally stuffs a pillow in her mouth so no one can hear her scream at the prospect of having to make countless cups of hot cocoa several times a day for the next few days. Fortunately for Mom, the same laws about food and beverage consumption that currently allow all children to eat a dozen cookies in one sitting also apply to her. When she made her trip to the grocery store in preparation for the snow storm, she not only purchased 10 boxes of brownie mix and 20 frozen pizzas but also a case of wine, which has been carefully hidden in the utility room behind the world's largest container of laundry detergent. Since Mom will be doing more laundry anyway because of the snow, she thinks she might as well take advantage of the extra time she spends in the utility room to enjoy her own version of "hot cocoa." Aer one or two loads of laundry, she can look at a house full of rambunctious children, all of them devouring food like a swarm of locusts, and not want to pull her hair out. When one of the children asks her if she is happy that there is so much snow on the ground, she smiles and goes back to the utility room to check on a load of towels in the dryer. Knowing that all things eventually come to an end, snowstorms included, Mom maintains her cheerful demeanor, helped in great part by occasional visits to the bedroom closet and the utility room. When the snow begins to melt and the children express their dismay that this winter adventure will soon end, Mom— in one last gesture of maternal love and understanding—resists the urge to smile and turn cartwheels. W e don't see snowstorms very oen in the Sandhills. While our neighbors to the north and west of us enjoy beautiful winters that frequently include white, pristine landscapes, we Sandhills residents experience a different kind of winter. We live under what has come to be known as a "snow dome," a meteorological oddity that usually prevents us from seeing even a single snowflake, even as communities just miles away receive enough snow to shut down schools and businesses for days. On those rare occasions when we do have snow, we generally go a little crazy, made giddy by the prospect of enjoying a vacation forced on us by Mother Nature. Giddiness, like every other human emotion, can manifest itself in a variety of ways. For instance, a mother and a daughter, both standing at a window observing what amounts to blizzard conditions, may both experience feelings of excitement and anticipation. However, the reason for these feelings and the manner in which they respond to them may be vastly different. e daughter, temporarily released from the drudgery of the classroom, is excited to think that for several days there will be no tests to study for and no homework to do. She can stay up late each night and sleep in every morning, freed from the usual restrictions imposed during a normal school week. Without the constraints of a schedule, the daughter may begin to wonder how she is supposed to pass the time. e problem is easily solved with a few phone calls to all the SOMEDAY YOU'LL THANK ME Two ways of looking at a snowstorm BY MARY ZAHRAN Since Mom will be doing more laundry anyway because of the snow, she thinks she might as well take advantage of the extra time she spends in the utility room to enjoy her own version of "hot cocoa."

• Cover