Snow Days

Last Thursday we began what the local news called the "most dramatic snow event in over a decade." Basically this means that we received a large amount of snow for this area (between 14-16 inches near our house) in a few days, followed by an ice storm and freezing rain. We had been dealing with very cold temperatures for over a week, and the continuation of the unusual cold meant the snow and ice stuck around for about five days.

What this meant was an extreme disruption of our normal winter weather and activities. Everything shut down. No one went to school, work, the store, church, or anywhere else unless it was an emergency.  Which, for the most part, was actually a fun chance to hang out together at home. 

This is what our weekend was supposed to look like: basketball games, two performances of Aubrey's play, extra church meetings and song practices, and the ACT for Bailey, as well as regular Saturday/weekend chores and duties.

This is what our weekend actually entailed, day by day . . . .


Thursday  Snow was forecast, but no one (including the weatherman) knew how much would fall. The kids went to school as normal. It was so bitter cold that Aubrey talked me into driving her all the way to school (in downtown Vancouver) rather than to the bus stop. The drive there on the freeway was beginning to be a little scary. There was swirling snow on the ground and slick spots. By the time we arrived at school there was a big sign outside announcing that school would be released by 12:05.

I turned around and drove very carefully home. Around this time, a few miles further up the same freeway, there was a sudden whiteout which caused a 27 car and semi-truck collision, causing one death and many injuries. Once I was almost home I got a call from Aubrey saying that her school wanted parents to pick up kids, rather than have them ride the buses which would be overtaxed trying to get all the kids home at the same time from all the different schools.  So, I took a deep breath and headed back on the now snowy roads to pick up Aubrey and Joseph. 

As I drove my thoughts turned to Bailey, who had driven herself to school and presumably would need to drive home in the increasingly icy conditions. I texted her right as school let out and told her to leave her car at the school and have me pick her up instead. By the time I talked to her she was already home, however. Thankfully, her teacher let her leave about 5 minutes early. She drove very slowly and carefully home and made it safely up and down the steep hills between our house and the school.  If she hadn't left early it might have been a different story. She would have been caught with the hordes of teenagers who began the same trek and were not so lucky. There were multiple crashes in the few miles between the school and our neighborhood, primarily around the hills. In fact, the Salmon Creek hill had so many crashes at the top and the bottom of the hill that no one could get through for hours. Most people had to eventually abandon their cars along the road and hike in the 17 degree weather up the hill and many people didn't get home for 3 hours after school ended.

Dan joined us at home a short while later and for the rest of the day we made and ate honey whole wheat rolls and hot chocolate, gathered together and felt 

grateful that we were safe in our warm home. 

We ventured out at about 7:30 p.m. to take hot rolls to a new neighbor and were amazed at the amount of snow that had fallen. It was quite the adventure to just get across the street!

Friday  We woke up excited by the prospect of a snow day.  Snow outside!  Lots of it!  And it's beautiful!  Wheeeee!!  We enthusiastically pulled out the boxes of snow gear and the kids rounded up friends to sled with. Within an hour kids and friends were stopping by our house for hot chocolate and lunch.

It was a cozy, loving, fun day.

Saturday  We woke up to more snow!  Still fun!   Dan shoveled our driveway a bit, but then more snow fell and we couldn't even see where he had shoveled. So we pulled the snow gear back on and sledded some more!  Bailey also went for a long walk in the snow and each of the kids found friends to hang with again. 

Then, after we were worn out from sledding we looked around our house and found projects to dive into. Dan and I decided to completely overhaul our closet. We ruthlessly de-cluttered and made a towering  mountain of clothes to give to charity. Bailey pulled out the boxes of old photos and made piles she wanted us to scan. And I decided that it was the perfect day to organize my overflowing and totally disorganized boxes of family home evening lessons/Primary stuff. We worked exuberantly on our projects until we were invited to play games with friends down the street. So, we put on our snow gear and headed out into the winter wonderland.  Later on we relaxed and watched a DVD.  

Sunday  Freezing rain brought added driving challenges so church was cancelled. Our kids were excited about "at home church," and we were still amazed at the winter wonderland outside our home, but the novelty was wearing thin. 

Our frenzy of Saturday Snow Day projects and lack of Saturday responsible behavior had left the house a disaster. Boxes of snow gear were still stacked in the entry way and the laundry room was full of soggy gloves, snow pants, boots, and jackets. The rest of our house fared no better.  We did too much feeding family and friends and hot chocolate making and too little dishes and cleaning. And, those ambitious Snow Day Projects . . . the master bath still had a Mt. Everest of discarded clothes which had to be climbed in order to reach the room with the toilet. The scanning pictures project never actually completed, so there were (and are) boxes and piles of pictures in at least three different rooms.  My FHE/Primary papers were strewn around most of the master bedroom, making it necessary to hop between piles in order to cross the room. 

What were we thinking? 

Our enthusiasm for beginning projects had been much greater than our enthusiasm for completing them. 

Monday  School was cancelled again. The weatherman said more freezing rain was forecast and all roads were still covered in snow and ice.

Everyone was irritable. No one wanted to play a game, hang out with siblings or friends, or play in the mushy snow. No one wanted to be productive and, in particular, no one wanted to finish the Saturday Snow Day projects. Everyone was hungry but no one liked any of the food we had available in our dwindling pantry and fridge.  Sigh . . . each successive snow day is less fun.  By the end of the night I had to banish myself to my room to watch Olympics so I didn't yell at anyone. 

We were all driving each other nuts.

Tuesday  The snow was supposed to start melting, but it was happening at a glacier pace. The roads, which were mainly uncleared, had almost a foot deep of mushy snow and were slippery, making driving anything but the main roads treacherous. 

And yet, school was back in session after a two hour late start. Believe me, school has been cancelled in Washington for much less snow than we had yesterday. But, for the sanity of all parents and the safety of all children who are in the care of those parents, it was important that life get back to normal 
and children return to school.

And now it is Wednesday, in which the weather warmed up to 50 degrees and the rainstorms washed away most of the snow. 

This mom is happy that, after a fun and eventful week, life is back to normal. And I'm happy about the return of our temperate, generally rainy weather. And now, I need to box up snow gear, bag up the pile of clothes for charity, re-file the pictures that never got scanned, and put away my overflowing file boxes to be dealt with on another slow snow day. . .