Monday morning I started wondering what this winter weather would actually be like come Tuesday morning. I'm a Good Morning Alabama watcher (ABC station), and I usually get my weather from Charles Daniel on TV or from twitter. The forecast really hadn't changed much, so I asked the Mr to run to the grocery store to pick up a few things that we were needing. He did buy milk, but I needed it for a recipe that night.
***Side note: He was at the grocery store for a long time. He came home and said I was in trouble. I'm thinking oh crap, everyone must be at Publix stocking up for the winter weather. NOPE. Poor thing got behind someone using coupons. And he said, she had at least two coupons for every item. But, the best part was after she paid $3 for what was supposed to be $42... the cashier gave her two gift cards $5 each. So he said SHE GOT PAID TO BUY GROCERIES. And now, he wants me to learn these coupon tips. Anyone want to help me learn?***
Anywho, Tuesday morning comes and I'm up early with the Mr. I had been up for a few hours before he got up. (I don't sleep well in the early mornings, but you let 6:30 hit and I sleep like a baby til 8! Darby says the baby is training me for what's to come. I guess we will see soon!) So I'm watching the news, and catching up on social media. I see Charles Daniel's tweet, "Good Morning Alabama!! It's Snow Day...", and I respond....
Now, at this point it was before 5 am. And the snow didn't even start falling here until after 8:30. My parents were supposed to come that morning. Dad had a meeting and mom was going to help me finish up in the nursery with washing clothes and organizing. They asked me what it was doing here and I said, well, we have snow flurries, but that's it. They had sleet and snow at their house, but they started on their journey here. Mom starts sending me pictures of their commute and I kept telling them, oh it's nothing like that here.
Well, the Mr called me around 10:30 and said he was stuck in traffic in Bessemer. He said that vehicles were spinning and it was getting crazy out there. I immediately felt bad because I had told my parents that it wasn't like there here. And a few minutes later I get a text from mom saying they were half way here, but turning around because it was getting too bad, and dad's meeting was canceled. So that meant seeing this little cutie (who was in snuggled up in their backseat) was out of the question.
The Mr said he was going to start his way bad to our area, but he had to make one more stop to get some paperwork signed with a customer. It took him almost two hours to go a mile and a half. And once he got back on the road, he called me to tell me he was coming straight home, but he had no clue how long it would take him because people were leaving their vehicles and walking on the interstate. And all I'm seeing from the warmth of our home is beautiful snow falling from looking out the window. Mom sent me a text telling me they made it back home at 2:30. That same time the Mr pulls in the driveway. I was so happy to see him. But then he starts telling me all the scenes he saw coming home and I realized how lucky I was to have him home.
We didn't start watching the news until a few hours after he got home. I guess I really wasn't prepared to see and hear what we were watching. We had friends who had to leave their toddlers at daycare overnight because they couldn't get to them. And we heard of children being stuck at schools with their teachers overnight due to the same reason. People were stranded on the highways for up to 12 hours with no food, water or bathrooms. Crazy and scary at the same time!
Our experience with the snow/ice wasn't a bad one. Although I know it could have been much worse. I'm so thankful I had my husband home with me, and that my parents made it back to their house safely. I loved (and am still loving) the snowy scene here at our home. The snow will melt later today, but it's been beautiful.
Unfortunately people are starting to but blame on the weather and media folks. There is no one to blame. This is called mother nature, and it can take a turn for the better or worse at any moment. Were there bad calls made? Sure. Schools should have canceled classes for the day, but they did what they thought was right at the time. We aren't used to this kind of weather. We might get snow once a year, and it usually is a "dusting." And, it usually melts just as soon as it stops snowing. This was a different situation. No one really knew this was going to have an outcome like it did. But, we live and we learn.
However, good came out of this. Folks were helping their neighbors, and even strangers. Southern hospitality doesn't stop even in a snow storm y'all!
