The Irony of Weekend Snow

Dearest Rachel –

They tell us that we’re in for a real dose of winter starting today, and going well on into tomorrow, honey – somewhere in the neighborhood of six inches to a foot, depending on who you listen to. It’s that time of year, after all, and for all that I make an effort these days to get out of town (heck, out of the country, if at all possible) during the worst of it, it isn’t as if it’s completely avoidable, unless I were to permanently move someplace warmer – and as long as I have family and community here that I have responsibilities with, that’s not going to happen any time soon, if ever at all. Besides, at that point, I’d probably be dealing with untenable summers instead.

This being a weekend – and a holiday one, at that – this isn’t as much of an issue for most people as it would be over a workday. There isn’t as much reason to be out of the house (the beginning of the Christmas shopping season notwithstanding – at this point, that can be managed just as easily from one’s own home, in front of one’s computer. And here I pointed out just the other day how that used to be a novelty, when we were just getting started in life, remember?), so if the driveway is filled with snow, what of it? There’s no rush to get it cleared, apart from the possibility that, by letting it freeze in place, it may be that much harder to dislodge when you need to.

As far as the kids are concerned, this is equally nice. Granted, it doesn’t have the impact that a snow day might, where you get to stay home from school (and after the pandemic, when everybody got a whole year plus of that, some kids may have realized that’s not nearly all it’s cracked up to be), but with parents theoretically free to take them to the sledding hill just south of here, or something along those lines, this could be every bit as fun in its own right. Then again, just a day at home with family (especially after the recent holiday) and a comfortingly warm beverage is all one really needs. I don’t know any more, as it’s been a while since Daniel’s been a little kid; I don’t know what really appeals to them anymore, assuming I ever did.

What’s ironic about it all is that the weekend is the one time of the week where I actually have to be somewhere, and at a specific time. If the weather looks to be particularly forbidding on a weekday – or if I just don’t feel like leaving the house that day – I can let the folks know (and technically, I don’t even have to do that, but I think they like being informed of my whereabouts, especially given that it likely involved whether I’ll be by or not) that I won’t be in the ‘office’ that day, and leave it at that.

But more weekends than not, I’m assigned to work the audio-visual booth at church, as you know. This means being there, and at a certain time, regardless of the weather. To be sure, everybody else I’m working with has to deal with the same conditions (and worse, since they don’t have the flexibility I have on weekdays, but this isn’t happening on a weekday), so all of them are willing to extend the same grace to me as I would to them regarding the situation. Which stands to reason, as Christianity is all about extending grace to others as it has been given to us; it’s right there in the Lord’s Prayer, if not in those exact words. Still, the time crunch is a real thing, especially come tomorrow, when we’ll be dealing with three services that we need to be there for – as well as clearing out and bringing in congregants in between times (although it remains to be seen as to how many we’ll be dealing with, given the circumstances).

Now, obviously, this would behoove me to get started on clearing the driveway that much sooner this afternoon and tomorrow morning – and my still-unresolved sleep cycle may prove useful in that regard. However, this rather requires that there be something to clear from the driveway in the first place. I was actually up and awake at three this morning, telling you about my latest dream and what I might do with it, when this blizzard was supposed to start, and at the time, there wasn’t a flake in the sky, let alone on the ground.

I should mention at this point that, for all of the complaining people do about how “everybody forgets how to drive” during the first big snow of winter, it’s not necessarily the drivers’ fault. It’s hard to calculate when and by how much a car is going to actually brake when you stomp on the pedal; and getting started after having stopped is equally unpredictable. Nobody expects to fishtail immediately upon hitting the gas, and even if you do, guessing which way you’ll start sliding, and compensating for it, is particularly challenging, especially when you can barely see around you, between the falling snow and the fog on all of your windows. I made it to church, but it wasn’t easy, even for a veteran driver like myself.

But the irony was, it was all for naught; the service was canceled this evening. Not because of the weather, so much, as the fact that the building was without heat. At the moment I arrived and got the text message from our producer, the temperature in the auditorium was running at 57ºF; warmer than it was outside, by a considerable margin, but not what anyone would consider comfortable. So that second shoveling – and the treacherous drive thereafter – was a waste of time.

Since then, however, the snow seems to have tapered off, to the point where that original forecast may have leaned more to the lower end than the higher. All the same, there’s still a learning curve to deal with when it comes to driving in it; so while I have to go – and earlier than normal, too, since we didn’t rehearse today – the folks are staying home, and I’ve advised Daniel to do likewise, for safety’s sake.

With that having been said, honey, I sure hope you can find it in you to keep an eye on me as I head out, and wish me luck. I’m going to need it.