We had an early release day. When we got the news, there was no sign outside that snow was on the way--other than the leftover snow from before, which reminded us it was the appropriate time of year for snow.
I was on my way to the store when Cody texted wondering if I could help him run a few errands. No big deal (and it wasn't).
During the errand-running, he mentioned that he wasn't going to try to go in to work, because of the weather, and I made a mental note not to make my relief to obvious. I have been occasionally giving him a ride to and from work since he found himself without transportation after the last big snow event here in K.C., and as much as I love to drive through lots of snow, I'd really rather not.
Actually, the pizza delivery gig a few years back makes me less nervous about it, but I still don't like doing it.
After we ran the errands and I got home and was about to eat my lunch (very late), he texted to say he had to go in to work anyway.
No big, like I said. It's kinda nice. I'm almost 100% sure I won't ever have kids, so this is my shot to get a taste of at least part of it--the part where you do stuff you wouldn't normally do, like drive places you have no reason to go to, at times you have no reason to be out and about.
Yes, there's a lot of snow on the ground at this point, but--other than some moments where I wondered if I'd make it up a hill here or there--it was pretty much to Liberty, back from Liberty, all done (okay, technically not Liberty, as it's on the other side of I-35, but may as well be).
As is my tradition, when I got the call that we had no school, I sent him a text. He texted back, which made me think maybe he got a ride home, as I'm sure at one point I told him he shouldn't text while working--but maybe I haven't shared that bit of "wisdom". I held off making dinner, however, in case he was at work and texted later.
At about 8:25 or so, I was thinking about starting dinner... and then I got the text.
No big. I texted that I was on my way, put my shoes on, grabbed my coat, and headed out the door.
What happened next should only have happened if I'd texted "I'll be right there."
The streets were crazy snow-covered. The interstate was also crazy snow-covered, but less snow there than the streets. And then, just after I passed whatever the exit is before the 152 exit (the one I needed), I see lights ahead of me (nobody was ahead of me the whole way to Liberty). Once it's for sure too late for me to even try to do the stupid "back up on the highway" thing, I realize it's vehicles, stopped.
And there I sat. Maybe I should piece together the texts and the status updates on Facebook to sort of tell the story from that point on. It went on for about two hours. There's a big positive message about the power of positive thinking and everything. It's a big boring dramedy. Dramady. How does one spell that, anyway?
Ah. Dramedy. First known use in 1978. Thanks, m-w.com!
In fact, that's what I'll do. Tomorrow's post will be the story of the traffic trip as told in texts and status updates. I think it might be really cool and fun.
If you think so, too, I have to warn you I'm probably totally wrong about it being really cool and fun. But I want to do it anyway.
But I will tell you the end. I sat for about two hours between those two exits, usually moving about a fifth of a mile at a time. Once we moved, we moved, and it was like an L.A. traffic jam, in that there was no evidence of what the problem was when traffic started moving.
The trip back home took something like twenty minutes, maybe.
Now, wait with bated breath for the whole story as told by texts and status updates!
P.S.: Blogger's spell check does not recognize dramedy or texted. That seems outdated to me.
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