I love winter. I love the omnipresent cold with its chilly rain and fog. I enjoy the early nightfall and cozy evenings as much as I enjoy the long, mellow light-filled evenings of summer. I even enjoy the blustery rain and snowstorms and the wild gray skies that accompany them. But as much as I love the rain and snow, I hold what I’d consider a sane person’s trepidation at the thought of driving through a snowstorm. And that’s just the position I found myself in as my sister and I drove home on New Year’s Day after spending the holiday break with our folks.

Veselka carrie
Editor / Progressive Cattle

We had left in decent time that morning, knowing the roads would likely be tricky for some of the way, and sure enough, as we turned from the county road to the highway, it was painfully obvious that the roads hadn’t been plowed in hours. This wasn’t too much of a problem until it was time to go up Midvale Hill.

Midvale Hill is the main landmark in my home county and, even in broad daylight with dry roads, is a two-hands-on-the-wheel kind of drive. The highway curves up and around one side of a steeply sloped hill, then descends on the other side with many playful twists and turns. Add several inches of snow, and things get interesting.

Even starting out with a small burst of speed (and by speed, I mean 55 mph) to ramp up the momentum, by the time we made it halfway up the hill, my tires were spinning wildly and I was down to 25 mph. I was about to ask my sister to hop out and start pushing when up ahead I saw a dark streak – one bare patch of asphalt wide enough for one tire track and no longer than 20 or 30 feet. We hit that bare strip, pedal to the metal, and it gave us just enough of a boost to make it to the top of the hill without incident.

The adventure didn’t end there. We made it down the other side of the hill on roads that would have satisfied an Olympic luger, followed closely by a jacked-up pickup whose driver didn’t seem to understand that four-wheel drive does not equal four-wheel stop. There were moments where I was 100% certain our car was going to slide off, but I truly felt we were held safely in place and on the road. I guarantee you I’ve never prayed so hard in all my life.

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That little adventure taught me a much-needed lesson. First, I need to invest in some tire chains. Second, and most importantly, everybody needs a boost or a break now and then. Everyone occasionally needs a boost to help them through a difficult task or a hard day, just a little extra push to supplement the hard work they’ve already been doing. I hope you’ve received help from an unexpected corner at some point in your life. It could look like an older, smarter sibling condescending to help you with your schoolwork or chores, a battery jump from a stranger late at night in a Walmart parking lot or friends showing up early to help set up for the church potluck.

Everyone has needed a break, too – some time away from the daily grind, a chance to reset and recharge and let your heart and your head catch up with each other. Maybe that looks like a vacation, a meal with friends or a quiet afternoon organizing the tool shed.

Boosts and breaks come at different times and in different forms for everyone, but the important thing is to take them when you have the chance and, when the opportunity presents itself, be the helpful friend or kind stranger someone else may need in their day.