Stacey’s SOLS: De-icing

I opened the door from my apartment building, dragging my granny cart behind me. I inhale deeply, breathing-in the crispness of the autumn morning. I look around me and smile. I’m surrounded by golds, reds, and oranges: the colors of my favorite season.

I walk down the pathway to my car and notice a thick layer of ice on the front and back windshields. Here we go again. I started the engine of the car before I put the contents of the granny cart inside. I put the front and rear defrosters on — in full force. Then, I went to the back of the car and put my belongings into the trunk, one-by-one, taking my time. I wasn’t going anywhere in a hurry. Then, I retrieved the scraper from the back seat. I begrudgingly scraped the back windshield so the ice would melt faster. I swept it across the side-passenger windows in curly-cue motions. I used it to remove the ice from the front windshield and finally from my side windows. Still, there was a lot of melting that needed to happen before I could drive away.

I noticed my husband’s car, parked not-so-far-away from mine. Its windshields were covered with ice too. I had no idea what time he was leaving, but decided to de-ice his windshields as well. I repeated the same process, but this time with a bit more care. Once I finished, I put the scraper back on the floor of my backseat and drove away vowing not to tell him what I did for him. Let him think it melted on its own! After all, we don’t do things to get a thank you… we do it because we want to make life easier for the people we love.