I am not Superwoman.

9 AM and I bundled up the baby in her pink Winnie the Pooh snow suit, put her into the back pack, and carried her outside so that I could shovel. Shovel the snow out of the never ending driveway. If I ever wanted to leave the shack again, I had to get to the end of the driveway. An impossible task. An overwhelming task. "Slow and steady wins the race," echoed in my head. I slammed the shovel in the bottom of the snow heap and felt the immense weight on the yellow shovel. Seriously?

Just then, Glenn called. "Another 20 inches of snow are coming Christine. Can you shovel a pathway from the back door out to the wood pile because you won't have enough wood for this storm that's coming. I'll bring the wood in for you when I come home tonight."
"I thought the company was putting you up in a hotel again tonight," I said, taking the cold air deep into my lungs.
"Oh yeah," he replied. "Well, I guess you'll have to bring in all the wood that you'll need for the next several days. You'll probably lose power with this storm that's coming..."

I stared into space. How could I possibly finish shoveling the driveway, shovel a path to the wood pile, haul in wood, and take care of the baby? As it was, she would be getting up from her nap in the next half hour. "Okay, Glenn. I can try."
If I were Superwoman, I would have said, "No problem. I can do all things."

But, the thing is, I'm not a superhero. I'm an almost 30 year old, trying to raise a 9 month old, maintain a loving relationship with my hubby, finish grad school, and survive living in a 490 square foot house. This place presents more challenges than I ever thought possible. This shack...it's stretching me, bruising me, making my muscles sore, and requiring more tenacity than I ever thought I had. And for what?
I have to keep our end goal in mind. By simplifying our lives, we are able to pay off our debt faster. Just last month, I was able to write a check for a few thousand dollars and put it toward my school loan. That felt great. You know what doesn't feel great? My back after shoveling for 6 hours...

Glenn came and rescued me this afternoon. He told me to leave and go south so that I didn't have to weather another storm without him. He said to pack everything for me, the baby and Mose and leave. He finished shoveling the last little section of the driveway (with his coworker), and helped me get the Honda out of the driveway. I threw everything that I could into a suitcase, loaded the car and headed south. I drove through snow, rain, ice, and heavy fog, but I made it. Six and a half hours later and I'm at my parents' house, listening to them play with the baby. I don't have to think about shoveling the driveway, or hauling wood. I don't have to worry about losing power or manning the fire. I can rest and know that for the next several days, the shack will stand alone, and I will be surrounded in love.