I don't watch a lot of television news, but when bad weather occurs, you have to watch. Since we live an hour away from the city, it can be fine where we are but deadly treacherous in Dallas. Since some teachers drive from quite a distance, our schools are often delayed and even closed when the weather "elsewhere" is bad. Thus is the case today.
The big ice storm of '09 is upon us, but not really. News reporters in Dallas and Fort Worth have dug out their cutest winter head gear to stand in the intersection of some major highway to tell you that it's slick out. There isn't much traffic on the roads, Dallas looks to be closed, and my husband just stayed home. With the economy the way it is he isn't overwhelmed at work. Since the company is in Dallas, they may close for the day or at least delay opening anyway. He's been there ten years. He has days off he can take. So be it.
Of course I have to work. There is no such thing as unable to get to work when your office is in your house. It also means I'll have to make breakfast later than usual and maybe take the kids to school when they start at 10. The bridges and overpasses will be icy, and my 16 year old has no experience with that sort of thing. (There are several bridges over a lake before you get to the high school from here.) On the other hand, he has to learn.
I don't like unexpected weather patterns. I don't like having three people "at work with me" unscheduled. These people know me as Mom and Wife, and they are used to talking to me and having me do things for them. Between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m., I don't like to be Mom or Wife. I have work to do.
Ice Storm, Schmice Storm. The weather is fine where I am. I'm a little worried about my iris and Cana bulbs that have sprouted in the last week. My tropicals and palms that are in the ground are not looking too good either. (But neither are the pots of palms and other plants that got brought in for the winter. I just do not have a green thumb.)
But I digress, which is what happens when there are people home who should be at school and work, and when the reporters on TV are making a big deal out of a little ice. But it is a big deal in Dallas. We don't get ice often. People don't know anything about it. Pick-ups do horribly on ice, fishtailing everywhere, and everyone drives pick-ups. I even heard some idiot say, "At least I have four wheel drive." As if that would help! I lived in Colorado for 15 years and we had four wheel drive. It's great for snow or mud or going through streams or up mountains, but on ice it's like having four wheels out of control.
My husband tried something he saw on the news. The dumbest thing I've seen today. He put a cardboard pizza box over his windshield so he wouldn't have to scrape the ice off. I was out this morning doing a "weather check" in time to see him trying to get the pizza box off his windshield. Yes, it was stuck. I wonder how many viewers were dumb enough to try the same thing? And how many are sorry they did today. Once when I was in college I saw on the Dallas news that you could pour a pitcher of water on your windshield and melt the ice off if you didn't have a scraper. I did that with a steaming pitcher of water and my entire windshield cracked, costing me several hundred dollars. These people haven't got a clue!
My kids are getting ready to go to school. My husband thinks he'll take the day off. We've been painting, and he can finish one of the areas. Of course it's part of my office. He says he can do it without disturbing me. I doubt that very, very, very much.
Ice storm, schmice storm. What do they do in other parts of the world? Up north people can't possibly stay home everytime the weather is bad. I suppose that because people down here don't have proper coats or gloves or even ice scrapers, we have to shut everything down. But come on people. How is anyone supposed to get any work done when the city shuts down and my husband stays home. Do you know how easy it is to get me off task? Do you know how much I enjoy a day alone with my spouse, and how rare those days are? I have lunch plans and conference calls....this changes everything. Can we reschedule this storm for next week? I'm just too busy this week.
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