I don’t have any sociological demographics data to back up this theory, but there seems to be a strong correlation between age and frequency of shoveling snow.
When snow season begins, there are homes that get shoveled perpetually, homes that get shoveled intermittently, and some homes that don’t get shoveled at all. I find the houses that get shoveled the most frequently and the quickest after a flurry are always older people.
My propensity to shovel my driveway and sidewalk is highly dependent on the weather forecast. There’s actually a very specific weather situation that I require to even bother doing it. The snow has to be done falling for the foreseeable future, and it needs to stay cold. If it’s going to melt on its own, or if more snow is going to fall, why the hell are these people waking up at 7am, freezing their old asses off, to shovel snow?
I know I’m technically legally obligated to shovel my sidewalk, which is bullshit since I don’t technically own it, and I could get sued in the event of a skull-cracking fall due to ice that I haven’t cleared away. But nobody is enforcing this. There’s no snow officers coming around giving tickets for this. Call me lazy, or call me efficient.
Theories I’ve heard for old-timers obsession with snow clearing:
The snow will get too heavy if they wait – some validity to this
They will break their hips if they fall – you could also break your hip shoveling
They have the time because they’re retired – seems more like a flex than good house maintenance to wake up and shovel at the crack of dawn.
Leave a comment if your grandparents are obsessed with shoveling snow and generally keeping up on housework to dunk on their neighbors.