Snow Bound

A few years ago my car needed some repairs because part of a tire was flung up onto my car on the highway, doing approximately $3000 worth of damage to my car. The only vehicle the rental car place had was an extended cab, Ford F-150 truck. I was scared spitless of driving it because it was like a tank. I was the person on the road who was driving 5 miles an hour (no matter what the limit) and hugging the line on the driver's side. It was ridiculous, but it was all I had to drive.

Fast forward a few years when I was driving to see my step-father for Christmas and got stranded in the snow in Little Rock. Scared the crap out of me! Spent two nights in a Little Rock hotel and then turned around and went home. Never even saw my step-father.

Two years ago at Christmas I got to see my step-father but it snowed after I got here. We were in town when it started snowing and enough snow had fallen by the time we got home that I didn't think we were going to make it up the mountain to his house (did I mention he lives at the top of a mountain? yeah, he does.). Again, scared out of my mind. We finally made it up the mountain but were stranded for a couple of days. I was supposed to leave the next day so I had to extend my stay because I couldn't get down the mountain.

Well, I've been up here at my step-father's for a while now (still up here helping with his recovery from his car accident) and we've been lucky in the snow department (although it DID snow Christmas day - the roads were passable though). That is until this weekend. It snowed Saturday night and all day yesterday. My step-father is at the nursing home in town and I haven't been able to get there in two days because I'm stranded on the mountain (fortunately I had stocked up on food a couple of days before this happened - I hadn't planned to but when I got to the store to pick up a couple of items, I decided it would keep me from having to go again in a few days so it worked out great!).

Anyway, his friends called me today and wanted me to check out his car because it has 4-wheel drive. Well, the battery is deader than a doorknob so they walked me through charging the battery. Which is all well and good, except I think they expect me to drive into town now! Did I mention that it's a suburban and makes the truck the rental place gave me feel like the tiniest of cars? Who in their right mind would want someone who is not comfortable driving a big car and is scared spitless of driving in the snow, driving a big car in the snow??? Seriously, are these people nuts?

So, if you hear a news report that some crazy lady is driving a big ass suburban and has traffic backed up for 20 miles because she's driving so slow, well, just know it wasn't my idea!

I like my theory better

In case you haven't heard, Houston had a snow day the other day. Tuesday the weather was warm - mid to upper 70s, and then a storm came through.

Wednesday it snowed. It snowed! In Texas!!!

Okay, I know there are parts of Texas where snow is not that uncommon but around here? Very uncommon. In fact, it's only snowed here 4 times in my entire life.

Anyway, I had just asked to leave early so that I could go to the grocery store before I had to go to my last class of the semester. My boss said OK and when I got into the parking lot it was already snowing. Not hard and not so that it would stick but still, it was snowing. I went to the grocery store, came home and put on my pajamas. Then I emailed my instructor saying "here's my final exam (thank goodness it was a take-home test!!!) and unless I hear differently from you, I won't be at class tonight because I don't do snow." or words to that effect. I heard from her about an hour and a half later and she emailed me back my grade (including my final grade - I got an A in the class). I heard from a friend the next day. Apparently I was the only one that wimped out on the class but she had everyone grade their own final and then dismissed class. (I would've been so ticked off if I'd gone in just for that! Particularly since I was freaking about the snow - you do know about my two traumatic experiences with snow, right? If not, just know they really were traumatizing and I don't respond well to snow now as a result.) My friend said on her way home there was a light dusting of snow over the Fred Hartman Bridge and you couldn't see where the lanes were. Did I mention I freak out just thinking about driving in snow? Yeah, so glad I didn't venture out.

But the topic is about my theory and the snow. You see, I think we had record snowfall in Baytown, where I live. We had 4 inches of snow. My neighbor was able to build a snowman at a height of probably at least 5 feet (I'd post a picture of it if I could email it from my cell phone but, unfortunately, I don't have that capability...I can text it though) - part of which is still in his yard. Anyway, I got up Thursday morning and my yard was the only one in the neighborhood that didn't look like a winter wonderland. It was actually kind of funny. But that's where the theory comes in. You see, a man at work was explaining something about the heat and trees and snow on the ground where there are trees. He said that basically the snow in yards with trees melts faster than the yards without trees. I didn't really understand the particulars of how it worked but since I'm the only one with trees in their front yard, it made sense that mine would be the one with the fastest melting snow.

On the other hand, my theory was that God understands how much snow freaks me out and was just helping me out. You know, making it melt first and all.

At least that's my theory, and I'm sticking with it. :)