On Sunday morning we woke up to snow. Not much, just one or two inches, but there was a thrill in the fact that it was there. And the funny thing is, once you left my little neighborhood the snow thinned out and eventually vanished. By the time we reached our church in DesMoines it was like any other cold fall day.
As the day progressed it snowed more and more, not sticking much at first, but by the time the sun went down (which is now ridiculously early) a thin layer was forming on the pavement. By 7 o'clock Monday morning that thin layer at expanded to near 2 inches. But the roads didn't seem too bad, and schools weren't even cancelled, so I decided to forge the 20 miles to work in my little, old, Toyota Camry.
Once you left the little neighborhood streets the roads weren't to bad. It was taking me longer than usual to get to work but I was still making time considering. Then I saw my first accident, not a bad one, just a spin out collision, but it happened right in front of me, on an overpass with no way to get around. I sat there for about 15 minutes before the paramedics flagged me around.
As the day progressed it began to snow more and more. I sat at my computer at work, but instead of staring at my screen I was staring out my window as white, fluffy masses fell from the sky. I'm not normally so taken by snow (although I do love it), but having spent the last two winters in Thailand, where I doubt it has ever snowed anywhere except inside the snow room at Dream World, I've missed it. To me the snow meant a beautiful iced landscape, to my poor mother it meant worry. She called at 11am pleading for me to come home. I understood. I don't have snow tires on my car OR 4 wheel drive, which in snowy, icy, hilly Western Washington is a recipe for disaster, so I agreed to leave after lunch.
Apparently everyone else had the same idea I did. The roads were abnormally crowded for that time of day and everyone was driving extra cautiously. I slipped on ice a few times, but I just kept going slow. Cars were being abandoned left and right, hills were closed and there were spin-outs on every corner. But I made it home, and I'm thankful I left work when I did. At noon there was a lull in the storm with only a few flurries here and there. By 4:30, when I normally get off it was like a full fledged blizzard outside. As I watched the news roads were closed and the freeways were literally a sea of taillights, or more over a sea of UNMOVING cars. It took some people more than 6 hours to get home!
This is where I'm lucky that I have a computer job. It means I can work from home if I have to. I spent the afternoon working on projects but also got to take breaks to play in the snow. I took Elaina down to redbox where we rented "Toy Story 3" and got candy from Walgreens, then later I took her sledding on our hill. I loved the adrenaline rush of flying down the hill on a sled, but I hated the icy arctic wind that blew in my face as I walked back up.
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| Looking out the window at work around 9am |
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| Walking with Elaina to Redbox. She's a goofball. |
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| Elaina was so excited that she got to be the first person to make "foot tracks" |
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| Building a special type of snowman |
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| Emily and Elaina with their masterpiece |
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| Out my window at night. The snow kept falling and was more than 6 inches by the morning. |
They say it might snow a bit more tomorrow, then it will warm up and the snow will turn to rain. I'm sad to see the snow go, but I know that we're in for more wild winter weather this winter care of La Nina, and I must say, I'm a little excited. So here's to surviving the first storm of winter and to future snow filled memories!
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