"Snow" Day

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest, it seems like snow days were few and far between. Usually, if it did manage to snow, it would melt as soon as it hit the ground, and the roads would be covered in ice. And that was the problem. Our area simply didn't have maintenance equipment like snowplows and salt trucks. And much of the area is very hilly, so the ice could really be a problem for school busses. So more often than not, when school was cancelled, it was due to the condition of the roads. Even still, cancellation was pretty rare, if my memory is right. More likely, school would be delayed a couple hours - long enough for things to warm up enough to turn everything back into slush.

In Rexburg, Idaho, where Jesse and I both attended college, it's snowy all winter long. Frigid, nose-hair-freezing cold, horrific biting winds, and lots and lots of snow. I can't remember anything being canceled in Idaho. Even when the roads were covered in at least 4 good inches of solid ice, the show went on.

Then we moved to Colorado. Oh, the snow! It really has a tendency to dump in large quantities (especially as spring approaches) right there next to the base of the Rockies. Still, they had plows ready for the occasion, because they know it's going to snow frequently. And they didn't salt - they used gravel, and sometimes a liquid de-icer. But it seemed like snow was hardly an inconvenience, most of the time, because all that snow equipment would be out there taking care of it in a very timely manner. And of course, most often, the sun comes out the very next day and melts everything. Man, I miss Colorado weather.

So it was quite a surprise when we moved to Maryland. Here I was, thinking - Hey! Northeast! They get snow all the time! And when we drove our moving truck closer to our first apartment, we kept noticing these odd signs: "Snow Emergency Route". What did that mean, we wondered? Did they really get that much snow in Maryland?

Well, soon we figured it all out. Yes, Maryland does have snow plows. And they salt their roads (much too liberally, in my opinion). But they do NOT know how to function when it snows. Not. One. Bit. We watched the local news stations with incredulity when the first snow of the season was forecasted, our first winter here. "Oh no, look out! There's snow in the forecast! We might get a whole inch!!!!" Grocery stores were innundated, shelves made bare. Schools were cancelled based on the forecast. No bothering to wait until morning to see what would actually happen. And that snow forecast was turned into a warning on the TV screen, bleeping an annoying sound every so often, reminding us of the impending danger: Snow. TV shows were interrupted so the weatherman could spend another 5 minutes explaining exactly when snow would be coming, which counties would be hit. It was like a hurricane was coming... only it was just an inch of snow. Maybe. And the whole point of those Snow Emergency Signs? Those are the roads that take priority with the plows.

We quickly learned that for us, snow is no big deal here in Maryland. We wait for it anxiously every winter, go through annoying amounts of rain or sleet before we get to it, and rarely get enough accumulation to write home about. Or enough to even play in, for that matter. It seems that Maryland is right on the border of all the good weather - our friends in the York, Pennsylvania (less than 1hr north) area often get a good amount of snow when all we get is rain. It makes us very, very sad. Still, while the snow is no big deal for us, it seems like the natives here just don't know what to do with themselves. Well, maybe they do know: They go into a full-scale panic.

At any rate, we got some snow yesterday. It was so lovely to see the pretty, fluffy whiteness covering everything. But, as with every other snow we've had this year, the rain soon followed. The snow changed over to a wintry mix last night, with a possibility of freezing rain (which, granted, is a big mess) for overnight/this morning. But in the 5 1/2 years we've lived here, we still haven't adjusted our attitudes. Jesse got up for work just like normal, drove to work with a mere single half-slip as he turned a tight corner, and showed up to a nearly empty office. He looked at his phone - it was blinking. There was a message. Work had been cancelled. He caught up with the other lone co-worker there and told him the news, since he had obviously missed the message, too. And then he went back out to the roads, grabbed some donuts from the grocery store, and came home.

And I, who had not yet dragged myself out of bed, was pleasantly surprised by extra morning snuggles and yummy chocolate donuts. The kids barely reacted, they simple exclaimed "surprise!" when he walked through the door. As if they were surprising him. Which they do every time he comes home.

So we had a lazy day around the house this morning. Jesse took a mid-morning nap. We made shrinkeydinks. Then we decided to grab some paper supplies for some crafts, and get our tax software and a new Norton Antivirus. The roads were all perfectly fine. The parking area right next to our van, in front of our apartment, was interesting, though. In the parking spots where plows can't reach but cars hadn't been parked, there was a layer of snow topped with a layer of ice. Jacob managed to slip on it despite being as careful as a 3-year-old can be. He slid onto his bum, and giggled. And that was the height of the danger today. But oh, you bet, work was cancelled, schools were cancelled, the whole shebang! Because here in the mid-Atlantic, weather is SCARY. Apparently. Though, I think anyone who isn't native really wonders what all the fuss is about.

Our new President even agrees with me. ;)

WASHINGTON – You call this bad weather? President Barack Obama, steeled by many snowy Chicago winters, expressed disbelief Wednesday when his daughters woke up to find that their classes had been canceled for the day.

Schools in Washington and the surrounding suburbs either opened late or scrapped all their classes because of icy conditions.

"Can I make a comment that is unrelated to the economy very quickly?" the new president told reporters at a gathering with business leaders. "And it has to do with Washington. My children's school was canceled today. Because of, what? Some ice?"

The president said he wasn't the only one who was incredulous.

"As my children pointed out, in Chicago, school is never canceled," Obama said to laughter. "In fact, my 7-year-old pointed out that you'd go outside for recess. You wouldn't even stay indoors. So, I don't know. We're going to have to try to apply some flinty Chicago toughness."

Asked if he meant the people of the national's capital are wimps, Obama said: "I'm saying, when it comes to the weather, folks in Washington don't seem to be able to handle things."

DISCLAIMER: To my local, perhaps native friends reading this blog: I don't count you among the insane. You all know better than to follow weatherman-induced, lemming-like panic. ;) And I love you for it!