The Winter of our (dis)content

The holidays were low-key.  We spent Thanksgiving with Dennis’ family, and Christmas in North Carolina at my parents’ house.  Our finances were a mess, so we kept things simple.  This period taught us a lot about the key to happiness.  It’s not material possessions, but the ability to be together.  The time we had spent apart both at the beginning and the end of our time in Charleston made us more appreciative of one another.  However…..with that said, the month of January did test that appreciation at least a little.

In January 1996 the east coast was hit with a series of storms that brought record amounts of snow.  In a typical winter Richmond will get a couple of storms which may each produce a few inches of snow.  On January 6^th a storm which is still called the “Blizzard of 1996” came through and it snowed for the better part of three days.  When it was over there was over a foot of snow on the ground and we were literally stranded in our apartment.  One week later another substantial storm hit and dropped another ten to twelve inches.  The result; no school for most of the month of January.  Unfortunately, Ben has always disliked being out in extreme temperatures, hot or cold, and playing in the snow has never appealed to him.  So…he and I spent the entire month inside.  By the time February rolled around Ben and I were both suffering from severe cases of cabin fever

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After surviving the winter we decided that we needed to intensify our search for a house.  We wanted to be able to jump as soon as our house in Charleston sold.  Therefore, over next six months, when we weren’t working we were scouring Hanover County for property.