January 23, 2014 

This week about six inches of snow fell on my hilltop, with record cold temperatures. When a snow was predicted, Bill used to put the snow shovel by the back door, bring in some fire wood, and park the truck and car so they aimed downhill. So on Monday, I got out the snow shovel, brought in fire wood, and aimed the car and truck downhill. In addition I bought fresh gasoline for the snow blower and got it out of the horse barn.  

I wish we had had a snow blower in February 2010. That was the year a record blizzard hit our area, dumping more than two feet of snow on top of an earlier snow so that accumulations were almost four feet. A lot for the Mid-Atlantic area. Thousands of people lost power to their homes, including Bill and me. We were without power for four days.  We had a portable generator, but during our storm preps we had neglected to move it from the horse barn to the back door of the house before the storm hit. Bill who had stage IV cancer had to dig a wide enough path to get the generator out of the barn and up to the house, so he could plug it in. That meant digging a 20 foot path through four feet of snow.  We had only one large container of gasoline for the generator, and thus could only run the generator for limited periods of time.

On Day Two after the storm, we were relieved when our son and one of his friends came slogging through thigh-high snow with four full containers of gasoline; they had hiked in from the nearby subdivision through unplowed roads, a real act of heroism and stamina. With the new stores of gasoline, Bill and I could run the generator for a limited number of circuits, but at least we had running water and some heat. We cheered when the power company crew appeared on our lane. Even after power was restored, we were snowbound until the snow plows cleared our road.  

Five months later in the month of June, Bill started the process of having a whole-house stand-by generator installed at our home. He died of cancer a week after the contract was signed.  

When snow falls, I no longer have to worry about being in the dark and cold alone, or going outside in the middle of the night to add gasoline to a portable generator. That stand-by generator was Bill’s last gift to me. Thank you, honey.