The Long Trip Home

The forecast had been saying we would get a winter storm. We were under a Winter Storm Warning from 6pm Friday until 6pm Saturday and that warning had been issued on Thursday...maybe even Wednesday night. Snow started falling just before 4:30 on Friday. I was at work as I usually am on Fridays. We closed at our normal time (5pm) and T arrived just a few minutes later to pick me up. Normally, we're home in 20 minutes. Thirty if the traffic is bad and an hour if we decide to stop at the grocery store or pick up dinner on the way home. T told me he had received a call from my sister saying the main road we usually take was a mess so he picked an alternate route.

We were on our way and would have been okay except the van in front of us started spinning on the side of a hill. We had to stop which is never a good idea. T is very resourceful and was determined we weren't going to be stuck there. He got the ice scraper and dug around the tires down to the road so he could get some traction. After about 15 minutes of scraping and trying, he had turned the car around and we were on our way again.

It was slow going but mostly uneventful. We decided to check the main road my sister had said was bad to see if the traffic snarl had cleared up any. It looked fine. Sure, there was a long line of tail lights ahead but the traffic was moving. We didn't want to go around the back roads we had traveled the last time it snowed because we had such a hard time on that one hill. We decided since the traffic was moving on the main road, we would take that. After we passed all turnoffs for alternate routes, we hit a snarl that left us sitting in a line of traffic for almost 4 hours as snow continued to fall.

Finally just after 9pm, we were on our way again and dreading the road to T's mom's house where The Princess Trio had been since getting off the bus at 3:30. As we expected the road was virtually untouched. We could see where other vehicles had traveled earlier but those tracks were filled with fresh snow. I held my breath when we crossed the narrow bridge and started up the hill on the other side. We almost made it to the top before we slid to the side. Again, T was out of the car digging around the tires with an ice scraper. Hard as he tried, the car just wasn't gripping the road. Someone else who lives on the road stopped and kindly offered us a pull. He pulled us to an area that's mostly flat and then followed us to be sure we made it to my mother in-law's house okay.

By this point, we were sure we didn't even want to try bringing our Plymouth Breeze up the road to our house. It's a private gravel drive with a couple steep hills. T parked the car at the end of his mom's driveway off to the side a little so his brother could get in and out. We got the girls and walked the mile from mother in-law's house to our own house. It was a cold walk and I was thankful for the flashlight T took from the car. When I walked through the door a little after 10:00 Friday night, home was the best place in the world. I probably ruined my shoes because I walked home in the shoes I had worn to work that morning. Unlike last time, I hadn't put my sneakers and extra socks in the car.

That long trip home is an experience I do not wish to repeat but I know it could have been much worse. I can't imagine going through that with the kids in the car and I'm very glad God answered my prayers and sent a helping hand so we didn't have to walk any further than we did.

Garden Planning with S

When gardening catalogs arrive, I have to hide them from S until she finishes her homework. As soon as she sees them, she grabs a snack and a pen and settles herself at the table. I hear lots of "Oh, Mommy! Look! We could grow this!" and a little "Aww, that's really pretty but it's not in our zone." I only told her about USDA Hardiness Zones once. She asked what our zone is and I told her 7. Since then, she's looked for the hardiness zone of any plant she thinks is interesting. Spring isn't here yet but S already has a few specific plans like red geraniums in terra cotta pots on the porch "'cause that's pretty and hummingbirds like red." She's a few months shy of her 8th birthday and I'm afraid I've already taught her everything I know about plants and gardening. It's going to be fun to learn together.

M Tuns 11

I have an 11 year old daughter. Oh. My. Gosh. She’s a tween! No, really. I’m not panicking about it though 11 does sound a bit awkward.

We celebrated M’s birthday yesterday. Her favorite phrase is “I’m happy!” so T put the candles on her cake in the shape of a smile. She loved it. The birthday girl chose red velvet for her special cake so we also had white cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Since the birthday was celebrated on the same day as A’s baptism, A decided the cupcakes were her “baptism cupcakes.” M thought that was perfect.




M asked for knitting needles and yarn for her birthday. She got a lot of sewing stuff from cousins, her aunt and her grandma. She also got supplies and a craft lesson from her great grandmother. T and I deviated from the craft theme and gave her ramen noodles. No laughing! M is a big fan of Naruto who happens to talk about ramen a lot. She’s been asking for ramen so she could try it. T also gave her the Zune he had been ‘trying out’ for the past few months.

Today, we hung out at home. The girls had a day off school and the weather was absolutely gorgeous. They played in the woods practically all day. M said it was a perfect birthday.

Special Moment

This morning at church, we witnessed the baptism of our middle daughter.






I laugh when I look at this picture. The pastor gave her a candle to symbolize being the light of the world. A doesn't like fire so she blew it out almost as soon as he put it in her hand. She brought the candle home and put it in a place of honor but she doesn't want it lit.

Carolina

Country singer, Eric Church, released his second album titled Carolina almost a year ago. I kept meaning to give it a listen. After all, I remember seeing him in the hallways at high school. I'm pretty sure my little sister had a crush on him during those days. I also remember him singing at the Festival on the Square in Granite Falls while I walked around with T.

Well, I finally checked it out of the library and listened to it. I like it. Enough to buy it. T, who poked fun at Eric Church's singing at that little festival, also likes the album. He says, "He couldn't sing those old Garth Brooks songs but he does pretty good with his own stuff. There are a bunch of good songs on here." T usually says something is 'alright' so for him to use 'pretty good' is indeed a compliment. Even more telling than his words is the fact he took the CD with him when he left to run errands today so he could listen to it in the car.

2 Hour Delay

School was delayed two hours today. I heard so many parents question it or call the decision stupid. Honestly, that annoys me to the point that I want to shout "Think, people!" The decision was made for the entire county. Sure, the main roads were fine but there were enough rough patches on the road when I went to work before 8:30 to make me very grateful for the delay. My kids normally get on the bus at 7:10. Their bus then travels over roads with lots of shady hills, curves and bridges. There are places where the 'shoulder' is barely big enough for a car tire to sit on and then it drops away to nothing. Last month, when we had snow and ice a car landed in the creek not too far from our house. They slid down a hill and missed the bridge. The bus carrying my daughters and their schoolmates travels that road. In fact, to get to my house, that road must be traveled. I'm talking about one bus route in particular but I know there are many other buses who travel those same roads or roads like them. Just off the top of my head, I can think of one road that would be one continuous ice patch. It's curve after curve with a gradual climb or descent depending on the direction you're traveling and it only sees sunlight in patches. The road snakes by dozens of old homes in what used to be a mill village. Tall trees shade the road from both sides. I wouldn't want to be a bus driver assigned to travel that road with below freezing temperatures following ice/sleet/snow. The parents who normally take their kids to school sometimes forget about kids who ride the bus and the fact those kids start their journey to school a lot earlier. I know kids who are just rolling out of bed at the time my daughters are getting on the bus.

Decisions to delay or close school are made for the SAFETY of the children not the CONVENIENCE of the parents. Yes, it can be a pain to make those last minute arrangements but I'd rather do that than get a call telling me my children were in an accident. While it's true accidents happen every day, it's also true that the number of accidents spikes when there's ice on the roads.

Just sayin'