24.1.14

Friday Favorite: This is what snow looks like in south Louisiana.

In case you haven't heard, it snowed in south Louisiana today.  Sort of.  They've been talking about this for three days now, these weather people.  And by lunch time yesterday, they made the announcement that school would be cancelled today.  So my children went to bed last night in great anticipation of snowball fights and snowmen.  And this is what they woke up to this morning.

They couldn't wait to get outside and play in the snow on the slide.  So we bundled up as best we could.  Because, honestly, we do not have the clothes for really cold, wet, icy weather.  This never happens.  We finally made it outside, and they took off running through the backyard to the slide.  I'd already told them they couldn't touch it until I got out there and could take their picture with the "snow."  Because I knew what was going to happen.  Mason picked up a handful and said, "Oh.  This isn't snow.  This is ice."

And that's what it was.  Not the soft, fluffy snow they'd envisioned.  Not that they even know what that is!  But it was hard and crunchy.  And cold.  Because we don't have gloves.  I know.  What kind of mother am I?!

So after 2 1/2 minutes, they ran back inside because it was too cold.  As the day wore on, it got a little more exciting.  It rained freezing rain and ice nearly all day.  We had some pretty icicles on the house.

And by the end of the day, this was the best we could do.

But let me tell you.  It may not look like much.  And it wasn't.  But it was enough to cause complete chaos everywhere.  The interstate systems closed.  All of the bridges closed.  

And my husband decided that it was absolutely necessary that he go to work today.  I don't know what time he woke up this morning.  It was still dark, and I didn't look at the clock because I'm going to sleep as late as I possibly can.  I figured that it must not have done anything and that it was fine for him to go to work since he was leaving.  As I was cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast, I found out that the bridges were closed.  Realizing I had not heard from Seth, I sent him a text to find out where he was.  He was at his office in Baton Rouge.  The Mississippi River sits in between our house and Baton Rouge.  When he went to work, the bridge was closed.  So what does that tell you?  Turn around and go home!  But not him.  He traveled an hour to the next bridge and took it over and then back around into Baton Rouge.  Apparently he didn't give much thought to how he would get back home.  He left work this morning at 11:30 to come home.  He got home a little after 7:30 this evening.  Eight hours.  EIGHT HOURS.  There's really not much I can say about that.  He's stubborn.  And hard headed.  And impatient.

He didn't want to sit in traffic earlier in the afternoon to go over the one bridge that was open at the time.  So he was going to go down to another bridge over an hour away.  By the time he got there, it was closed.  So he went to the ferry.  The line of cars was four miles long, and he didn't want to wait.  So he left again and went back to the first bridge that he was avoiding to begin with.  Right when he got there, they closed it because of a one-inch block of ice that had accumulated.  Instead of waiting, he left again to go to yet another bridge that he heard was open.  It took him an hour to get there, during which time it was closed.  He finally traveled another hour and a half and found an open bridge.  And then it took him another two hours to get home.  I don't really know what the moral of this story is.  I'm just glad he's home!

And Ellie . . . well, I think she's ready for spring time.  She did not want to wear the sock hat, did not want to wear her other hat, did not want to stay strapped in her car, did not want to go outside.  Can't say I blame her!