Misery is:

Getting up early because you know the roads are going to be bad.

Going outside to find your vehicle covered in ice and snow.  And the wind is howling, making the wind chill well below zero.

The normal 40 minute commute stretching into 2.5 hours as you creep  with the rest of the fools along crowded roads at an average of 6 mph.

Realizing hours later, after a short but long day of work, while walking back out to the car that the wind is still howling, it’s still freezing out.  And guess what?  The roads are no better.

Spending 1 hour to move 2 miles in a multi mile backup with no escape route available.

But on the other hand….Joy is:

Listening to music from the Nutcracker at 7:00, the exact hour your own community band concert should have been starting…because you have time to mess around with the radio in the new car.  Given you aren’t moving anyway.

Getting an enthusiastic hand wave from the young lady you let merge into traffic ahead of you.  Because really, after 45 minutes and less than a mile traversed, what does one more car matter?

Then again...misery is:

When the “holiday pops” music turns into some sort of monk chant.  You change the channel to a Grateful Dead station.  Who knew there was such a thing?  Playing music from 12/13/1980.  You’re not even a Grateful Dead fan, but this is better than the monk thing.

When you realize the young woman you let merge in front of you is texting and not paying attention.  So she’s not moving ahead when she could be.  OK.  So it’s only going to move you up a few feet.  Maybe a yard.  But after 50 minutes you want every foot of progress you can get.

Watching a guy walking on the shoulder pass you.  And seeing him many minutes later head over the hill about 1/2 mile away.  And you’re still pretty much where you’ve been for the past 50 minutes.

Joy is:

Realizing you sort of like this Grateful Dead stuff.

Misery is:

Getting past the accident that  has snarled traffic after more than an hour and 2 miles of progress and realizing the roads are still really really bad.  And deciding that 6 mph is about as fast as you’re willing to go anyway.

And there are at least 20 more miles to make it home.

And that the roads are so bad you turn off the Grateful Dead.  Because you don’t want to become one.  And you have to listen to the sound of the wheels on the snow and ice so that you can anticipate any problems.

Finding yourself behind a really slow car just before a big hill.  Who stops to turn left.  Leaving you to creep up the hill of ice with no momentum.  Left tire in the left turn lane which is snow covered helps.  But it’s still misery.

Joy is:

After almost 3 hours you see the blue lights of the trees in your own back yard.

And your husband has plowed the driveway.

And it’s stopped snowing.

And Katie is very happy to see you.

Misery is:

Knowing the roads won’t be any better tomorrow.