a victory of sorts, tonight, of the family variety. it's the end of the winter, and a huge, wet, maybe 11-15 inch snow came in; that's a lot for new mexico which is usually very dry in the spring. we were watching this snow come in and hoping the temps drifted above 32 which would make a lot of it rain, not snow, but at least not ice which is our nemesis. remember that we are separated from the school and the village by an 8700-foot ridge, with rugged switchbacks, steep cliffs, and deer and elk all over the place. it's dicey driving even in good weather, as you tend to hug the center and have to watch carefully for oncoming traffic.

so i take the kids in to school this morning, and come home to watch the snow get started. it starts and it comes down hard. it starts early - it was supposed to start at eleven and then turn to rain, but it started at ten and never turned into rain, but just got harder, whiter, fuller. the big challenge of course is the ride back into town for picking kids up at 3 40 when school gets out. by 2 there is already six inches in the village and the mountain roads are filling up fast with snow.

now snow is better than ice, as i've said; you can use your brakes sometimes, but you definitely can't trust it. four to five inches wasn't bad, though, and i made it to town ok, still nervous about bringing four kids home in it. saw several vehicles thrown in the ditch by the side of the road. had one incident where i tried to use my brakes and almost lost it. but i slowed way down, and got to town all right.

but i forgot to mention, before i left, we lost power. it just shut off, and there was no telling where, how much, when it would be restored, etc. i was worried about my wife - she can't start a generator - and so now i was in a hurry to get back. no matter how much it snowed, i wanted to come home, with the four kids, start the generator, and survive whatever the storm had to offer.

in town we had some donuts to drop off. four people had paid ten bucks each for boxes of krispy kremes, two of which as it happened were already delivered. one of the customers had closed shop and gone home - in fact, most of the village had closed shop and gone home - but i got the mission half accomplished, then having to bring a couple boxes back home.

at the school they didn't mind me grabbing my kids a little early. they were well aware that it was snowing hard, and foggy, and icy, on the roads, and we country people have a long way to go, preferably in daylight, on treacherous roads. i did it, got all four, and started back, about half hour before school was out.

on the way back, more stranded cars in the ditch; an RV was navigating the icy hill very tenuously. i slowed way down. the highway wasn't really that bad, but when i got to our ridge, i knew the trouble was going to start. partway up was a power guy, working on the lines. in the snow. it was still snowing hard.

this time, going up, the road had six to eight, and was very slippery. but i kept a steady pace and made it to the top of the hill. coming back down, first gear, easy does it, a long slippery hill with cliffs on the side, and actually now there were other cars behind me. this is in the national forest, mind you, a high ridge that separates our valley from the village and all the people in the heart of the mountains. but i kept a steady pace and got home.

we were all grateful to get home, but the big problem was still the generator. it started right up. i considered myself a genius to get the house all set up - a heater running, microwave for dinner, computers charged, playstation going, everyone was happy. some of them were getting colder, as it was still hovering around 32. but everyone was ok with their state of relaxation after school.

and the word came through: tomorrow, school is delayed. and keep yourself posted, as it might be canceled. in my view, it probably will be canceled, and that's because, in the village, it's still snowing. what was about seven when we left is now about nine, and will be twelve by morning. we're guessing, no school.

the power came on at about seven, five hours after it had gone out. i was right about that, too. it takes them about seven to be notified, find the problem, get the right equipment out there, and get it going again. i'm glad i'm not them. it's tough work and always in bad weather.

to us it was a godsend. i turned off the generator, moved heaters back to where they belonged, put everything back under its little cover; we made sure all bedrooms were warm enough. our own little house: warm enough, cleaned up, back to normal. a five-gallon jug of water that i'd moved in for toilet water (the pimp doesn't work when power is off), moved out. a huge sigh of relief. and, we can sleep in in the morning.

a kind of victory, especially the generator. my wife says, the sound of the generator is one of my favorite sounds. i agree. it's a kind of symbol of self-sufficiency, though you have to go buy gas to run it. we charged our phones and watched movies by its power. we had the option to run different heaters, and stay warm in different ways.

the temps never got below thirty, really, and it will all melt in a day or two. the moisture will be good for the dry mountain grasses and trees; it will smell good for a while. we are way down by the mexican border, and it just doesn't get too cold in march, though old-timers will tell you, things like this are always possible. you never know. and it's a wetter year than usual; they say a few inches, we get seven, nine, thirteen. maybe it's not over.

but i'm feeling better prepared all the time.