Wintery Microcosms

I live in a very small village on Long Island. Very small.

My graduating class was less than 75 students and although for some reason we have two LIRR stops we're only really one square mile. Itty bitty.

Everyone in our town pretty much knows each other, or someone closely related. We all have something or someone in common with everyone. Occasionally it's annoying that everyone knows your business and news spreads like wildfire, but mostly I think it's wonderful.

My block is a whole separate entity. I've lived in the same house my whole life, I've literally grown up with people in four houses on my block, and we watched the kids in the other five houses grow up behind us.

On the corner is Mrs. B. She lost her son last year and just this year lost her husband. Mrs. B. is like the block grandmother...when we were kids we'd go over to her house and decorate gingerbread houses, homemade gingerbread houses. She's always making jams and knitting things and bringing them over for us to enjoy.

Across the street is Pat. Her youngest kid is probably eight or so years older than I am so although she is a grandma she is not as elderly as Mrs. B. Pat also lost her husband this year so it seems to have been rough all around.

Down the block is a family that we've been good friends with. My brother was best friends with their son growing up. Right next door to them are the grandparents to a girl I went to school with. Then there's another family across the street who although they keep to themselves, have always been part of the scenery most my life.

Next door is a family that moved in when their oldest child was still a baby. I've watched the three kids grow up and Patty is the sweetest craziest little Italian lady I know. Charlie and I wave to each other each morning as we warm up our cars to leave for work. Now their oldest daughter is about to graduate college and it just makes me feel so utterly old.

On the other side is a family with two girls who've been great for Mrs. B. this year. We don't talk to Bob & Laurie much but they're very friendly and we've always gotten along with them.Sunday morning I woke up, had some pancakes with my dad and geared up to head outside. We had four cars to clear, a driveway to plow, two porches to shovel, walkways to unearth and at the end of the driveway where the plow had gone by we needed to take care of some serious drifts to get the cars out.

Down the block Bob had already cleared out Mrs. B's driveway and walkway and from the looks of it he and his buddy were getting ready to salt. While my dad attacked the driveway mound I hopped across the street to start clearing off Pat's car and shoveled her front stoop/walkway for her.

The neighbors that keep to themselves snow-blowed Pat's sidewalk and my dad finished off her driveway mound while I shoveled the snow out from under her tires. Up and down the block all of our neighbors were excitedly hurrying about clearing snow, shifting cars and lending a hand here and there. Claude walked over from his house a few blocks away to help his parents, I waved and asked how his daughter was. I think she's getting married this year (like so many of the girls I played volleyball with seem to be doing lately!)

I literally haven't seen half of my neighbors in years. We don't all keep the same schedules and we're in and out at different times of day but today I saw all of them and we chatted a little about how when we were younger this kind of snow would have been the stuffs dreams were made of.

Granted I did hop out into the yard when we were done shoveling and make a snow angel and dance around. Snow will always be wonderful, and our little microcosm will always take care of each other and lend a hand when necessary. It's a comforting feeling and it was nice to see everyone out and about and just helping each other without thinking about it.

Plus I love the snow!