Snow and I get along well, usually. I like to watch it fall like stardust, hear it crunch in its own uniquely fantastic way under my boots, eat it like manna from heaven, slide down hilly bundles of it, and breathe in the fresh cold air around it. Snow makes Christmas more like Christmas and the chill of winter well worth it. But when I have to drive in snow I dislike every single flake of it.
This morning the snow hadn't started falling when I got out of bed, and it wasn't predicted to start until after 8:00. Naturally, the snow came when the snow wanted to come, and even though I left the house a few minutes early to make my commute to work, by the time I drove down my street it was quite settled and kicking off its shoes to stay awhile. I turned onto the next street and found myself sliding ever so slightly, which was disconcerting in itself, but then for the next 20 minutes I made it only a few blocks in stop-and-go traffic. By the time I made it to the first light, two cars had turned around and given up. And I was officially late for work.
My alternate route didn't get me much closer to my destination. I sat in a snowy, empty parking lot as I called work and Luke to explain my situation. Going back home seemed the best option, since it wasn't the direction any other cars were headed, but I made a last-minute choice—foolish it seemed, seconds later—to get back in traffic.
When the cop up the hill put out orange cones blocking the exit I was hoping to take, I started chewing myself out for not heading home the way I had come. But then there was the bright side: I had heat (which a couple months ago was not true for my car), I had fuel (just enough to not worry over), I had snacks (my sack lunch and water), and I had a radio (so I could listen to the morning-show DJs tell me to delay heading in to work if I could).
An hour and forty-five minutes late to work, I finally made it. Thankfulness and relief flooded over me. People around me had driven slowly and safely; God had kept me from senseless panic.
The day went on, as days do. Kids made me laugh (wait for the next blog post about knock knock jokes, pretending, and news anchormen), co-workers brought good conversation, and I got to enjoy the snow as I walked to and from buildings. Then, just like that, the snow quit falling and the rain came.
What a sloppy drippy mess. Who cares that I forgot my snow boots in Luke's car, what I needed for my trip home was a pair of fins. Water, water everywhere. If I have to pull out my ice skates tomorrow morning, I'm going back to bed!
No comments:
Post a Comment