Census 2010

This month I am stiff, with a stitch in my side from trudging through the snow—the beautiful stuff of last month’s column.

This week I started a job as an enumerator for the 2010 census. In short, “a counter of the people” and “all the places they live or stay or could live or stay.”

My qualifications for this job are suspect, since I am terrible at reading maps and have had a life-long confusion over the basic directions of right and left. But here I am. I can learn.

The first day I spent traveling some of the lower reaches of French Woods, NY, deciphering a soup of acronyms and code numbers typical of the federal government. But I also got to use the snowshoes my cousin lent me, and it was kind of amazing to be skimming along the top of the thigh deep snow.

go to column

Home sweet home

What a difference a day makes. Not only am I back in the arms of my (gasp!) new-found valentine, but the spring in my step is also due in part to the faintest hint of spring being literally in the air.

Stepping off the plane, I immediately breathed a sigh of relief. While it was great to see Mom and momentarily escape the last throes of winter doldrums, it was, as anticipated, great to be back in the mountains. For many of us this is the norm, and I find the seasonal changes to be exhilarating, refreshing and most welcome.

go to column