In Praise of Power Tools: Heart Attack Snow

This week, we along with the rest of the country, had another round of snow. It was predicted that our area would get three inches of snow. We got six. Surprise. What wasn't a surprise was the type of snow; heavy, water laden snow, commonly referred to as "Heart Attack Snow". This snow is hard to push and difficult to pick up. Unfortunately, each year, a number of people die after shoveling it.
I didn't want to be part of that statistic and instead of a snow shovel (I have three and they all serve a particular function), I used an electric snow thrower. Last year, I realized that a snow shovel was not always the best implement for clearing snow off of a driveway. If the snow is to deep or heavy I couldn't move it on my own. This year I invested in the snow thrower to give me help when needed.
To tell you the truth, I had been holding out using it because I wasn't very comfortable using power tools. When I was growing up, I, because of my gender, wasn't allowed to use any power tools; excluding the vacuum cleaner. Power tools were the purview of men.
But this week, it was time to face that nagging insecurity. So I plugged it up, pushed the start button, pulled the bail and away I went. I was in awe! Snow flew from my driveway and into the yard. I learned to put the cord on my left (and not on my right, as I would do with a vacuum). No wonder men love power tools.
Soon, I had enough room for the car. I felt fabulous! Not just because my driveway was cleared of snow, but because that nagging insecurity about power tools, became less influential. For me, owning a house is just like everything else; sometimes the worst part is not when I do something and it doesn't work, it's when I don't try at all. For now, power tools are great, I just have to remember to unplug them, don't stick important body parts in them, wipe them off after use and always give myself time enough to use it properly. In as much as I am impressed with the precision of tools that are not "juiced", there is a time and place for those tools that allow us to be a little more powerful.