Chapter 5
Shoveling snow is tedious and backbreaking work, especially when it’s this deep. Bend the knees, dig down, scoop up, and dump it as far away as possible. Dig, scoop, dump. Repeat in infinity. But at least I’m not cold anymore, save my feet.
Besides being strenuous, it’s also mind-numbing. Even if the action itself resembles digging up a field and readying it for planting, this is different. Gardening is creating life and food and beauty. Shoveling is repetitive and hopeless, at least when the snowfall never stops.
I take a short break and stretch my aching body. Reaching my arms toward the skies, I twist my spine first one way, then the other, and finish by bending forward and touching my toes. As I straighten, I take a deep breath and cough when I accidentally inhale a huge s
