Seattle is a very mild climate. The ocean and the sound keep us warm in the winter and cool in the summer. That being said, every once in a while, cold weather aligns with wet weather and we get snow. It hasn’t happened in a few years, but if we get enough to cover the roads, it usually shuts everything down. I made fun of people for this when I moved here, but quickly learned that it really is hazardous. The roads usually start wet, then freeze, then get covered in snow. There are hills everywhere and oh yeah, there are only a handful of plows to cover the entire area. Thankfully a few years ago they changed the laws to allow the use of salt on the roads.
Anyway, we finally got a good snow the other day and it was perfect timing for Elijah to play in it. He has seen snow a few times before, but never at our house. We headed straight out as soon as we were up and he played in the snow with Tyla from 7:30 until noon with only a short break to warm up and change clothes. We had a couple sleds in the garage and those were a big hit. There were some roads in the neighborhood that were steep enough for sledding. All of the neighbor lawns were quickly covered in snowmen. Elijah had a lot of fun telling me about his big snow day!
Check Yourself
This latest piece was “severely abnormal.” On their scale it’s one small step before that terrible m word “melanoma”. Healing up after they take a 5cm by 1cm slice out of your shoulder and add 9 stitches isn’t pleasant, but it’s a lot better than some of the alternatives. I asked the doctor what would have happened if I hadn’t removed it and he said “Not many people volunteer for a study to see if they get cancer if we don’t do anything.” Maybe it would have been nothing or maybe it would have been cancer in a few months. While I’d rather not have the problem at all, I feel a lot better having it removed.
Even if you don’t want to commit to a regular skin check schedule, at least go in to find out what risk category you’re in and learn what you should be looking for.