when we moved out of ohio in august, i figured i had said a fairly permanent goodbye to all things snow and ice. well, at least the kind of snow and ice that sticks around for days at a time, requires snow plows and indicates that temperatures are remaining below freezing for days at a time...even during the actual *day*. however, mister snow miser would prove me wrong on february 1st of 2011 with a week of everything mentioned above right here in our own southern backyard. while it's something that will, doubtless, be spoken of for years (and possibly decades) to come, here is my own chronicling of the events...
monday night: i worked at AKUC. due to the impending bad weather -- an ice storm was predicted to hit that night and last for 2-3 days -- i knew we would be busy. sometimes, it's not good to be right. we saw a ton of patients in the clinic that night and actually had 3 doctors on staff (compared to our usual 1) to help with the volume. fortunately, i work with amazing people and the night went about as smoothly as possible, and i tried to make regular updates to the families in the waiting room explaining that the volume seemed to be a combination of the time of year (flu season, etc) and the threat of the bad weather. when i said this, most parents smiled and nodded in affirmation, some would even shout, "that's why we're here!" (to which i would reply in my head: "yes, i know...")
after work, matt and i head to the grocery store to stock up on food for the next few days. being pregnant and having been in similar situations in ohio, i knew better than to enter into any sort of potential "lock-down" situation without being prepared. by the time we leave the store (just before 1am), it's raining and cold! by the time we get home, it's sleeting.
by 5am (of course i was still awake), the ice had not only hit but had turned everything outside white and slick. our driveway, cul-de-sac and sidewalk had disappeared under the ice and i was thankful i didn't have to be at work tuesday or wednesday, and fell asleep thinking that the vet appointment for lexi and my OB appointment would most likely be cancelled.
tuesday morning, nothing but ice...
tuesday: matt's work gets cancelled, but the vet and birthing center stay open. i'm never lucky enough to get a true snow day! but knowing that we won't be able to find a suitable make-up date for either appointment due to our crazy schedules, we head out in the ice to both. it takes us about 35 minutes to get from our house to the birthing center, normally an approx. 13 minute drive. we watch on the overpass as an 18 wheeler fishtails and we don't drive more than 20mph all the way there or back. in my texas mind i'm thinking, "the sun is out, why is there ice on the ground? how is this even physically possible here?!). i wish i could say we ignored the school zones since school was out...but since we were only driving about 10mph down spring creek, i don't think that counts!
wednesday: no appointments, i don't have work and matt's work gets cancelled. i feel antsy having a single day off work and not being able to run errands and start to worry about getting the nursery ready. matt is an awesome husband and keeps me calm :) by the evening, the roads are *slightly* better and we dared to leave the house to enjoy a fire, dinner and movie night at my parents' house. after all, we did live in ohio for a year...what's a little ice? we made it safely there and safely back.
thursday: all week i had figured that by the time i went back to work on thursday the ice would have cleared (i mean, seriously, it's texas!) but the weather reports extended the forecast to include freezing temps on thursday as well, and i ended up having to leave the house nearly an hour earlier than normal...and i clocked in late to work, just before 7pm! matt's work was cancelled again that morning, but nurses don't get snow (or ice) days. fortunately, no one was counted as being late to work all week (at least that's what i was told). then we heard that it was supposed to start snowing around 6 or 7am. "great," i thought sarcastically, "just in time for me to leave work in the snow." if only i could be so lucky! the snow started at 11pm instead, and continued through the rest of the shift and into the morning. by the time i left work there was close to 6 inches of accumulation on the roads on top of the ice. needless to say, it took me a little over 2 hours to get home....just in time to do it all over again on friday. the snow was beautiful, though :)
friday morning, after i got home from work:
some bunny was attempting to find our front sidewalk!
friday: matt is off work this day already. i left for work 2 hours early and was able to make it there in time, mostly because i was one of the few either a) required to be somewhere and/or b) brave or stupid enough to be out on roads that horrible. in defense of the north dallas/DFW metroplex, we don't own *any* snow plows and only have a limited number of sand trucks. we use sand because it's cheaper and usually provides a temporary enough solution to get us through the one, or maybe two, days of bad weather conditions we have per year. usually, the weather warms up enough that everything melts and no one complains. this year, we borrowed snow plows! (hosting the super bowl in a few days and all the visitors with it probably had *something* to do with this decision).
our snow dog. surely she's thinking we've moved back to ohio without telling her:
saturday: the roads are better, it only takes a little over an hour to get home (usually a 30 minute drive). i leave for work only slightly early and enjoy the knowledge that no matter what the weather, i'm off on sunday!
sunday: my morning drive makes me smile. there is a gorgeous sunrise and *no* ice or snow on the roads. hallelujah! also, i don't have to be back at work AND i get to watch the superbowl tonight. life is good. snow is pretty. ice....sucks!
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