Diary of a Middle-aged Woman

02/15/07 - Snow Day!

I know, I know - I'm extremely late this morning getting to my daily entry. I've been debating with myself all morning as to whether or not I should attempt to drive to work. I just listened to the latest weather and road conditions report and the news is not good. I might be home, again today, due to weather conditions. My hometown is under a state of emergency, both main highways leading to my bank branch are closed, and all the snow that we shoveled and plowed yesterday, has blown back onto the roads.

So, here I am, wondering exactly what I should do. Do I attempt to venture out into this deep freeze only to sit on the highways until the roads are clear? Or, do I just call off work again today and hang-out with my daughter? Of course I am leaning toward the later. However, I should check-out the conditions from someone who actually makes it to work to see how their ride in was this morning.

As I'm typing this, the local radio station is running through the list of closings and cancellations. The thermometer on our back porch registers zero, and the weather channel says the wind chill is minus twelve! Yeah - I'm in a real hurry to get to work this morning.

It always amazes me how people head out into terrible weather conditions, risking their lives, just to get to work. I say if you have the vacations days, then use them to save your life, or the life of someone else on the road. No use trying to kill yourself, just to get to work. Your work will be there waiting for you, or, better yet, someone else will pick up the slack. No need to worry about that.

Yesterday, our mail carrier actually delivered mail. I was shocked that he made it through. I guess the slogan "through rain and snow. . ." does mean something. During the blizzards of '93 and '96 the mail carrier we had refused to deliver mail if your front steps weren't shoveled. He would even write on one of the pieces of mail "Couldn't deliver - SNOW!" Well, excuse us. We have jobs too and in the morning our priority is getting our vehicles uncovered so we can get to those jobs. We can't take the time to clear snow from steps for the mail carrier. What a jerk. If conditions on my job aren't what I would like them to be, I 'buck-up' and still do my job. I can't refuse to do it just because things aren't the way I would like them to be.

I just called my boss at home, and she is having the same problems. She lives a lot closer to the branch than I do, and she can't get out of her driveway either. Luckily, she understands my situation and said, "It is what it is!" It looks like I will be home today.

On snow days like this, I like to cook. A big pot of soup simmering on the stove sounds perfect for a snowy day like today. In fact, yesterday, I made a big pot of beefstew. One of those 'stick to your ribs' meals. This means I will abandon my menu for the day. I don't think my family will mind. Do you?

Have a Great Day - and keep warm!