Snow Day

(photo credit: Mike Nelson)

Instead of a high five this week, I'm telling my version of the past few days. In case you've been....I don't know... in a dark closet or somewhere without human interaction since Tuesday morning, Alabama had the worst snow storm since the blizzard of 1993. And yes, it's been that long since it really snowed here, and we all remember that day like it was yesterday. Little dustings here and there bring back fond childhood memories for many of us from that year. We actually got to build real, tall snowmen that weren't dirty with the grass that is usually only centimeters beneath the "snow."

(photo credit: Mike Nelson)

This most recent experience was not filled with as many fun and games. Many of you were also snowed in, and have stories to tell of your own. Here's mine:

(I-65 - photo credit: Mike Nelson)

Tuesday morning I went to school. Normal right? Not so much. I didn't really have to be there. I was trying to be a good little optometry student and take advantage of my morning "off" by practicing with other good little students in the clinic. So I got all dressed up in clinic attire, but decided to take a different pair of warmer shoes to swap and walk in (thankfully). I knew a light amount of snow was on the forecast, so I was a little excited in anticipation. But mostly I was just still grumpy about this cold weather, and am ready to have the option of wearing a T-shirt outside again, like normal, here in AL. 

I practiced and my partner practiced. Then friends came in and said "It's snowing! A lot!" And then the school emailed out that they were closing at noon. Well, it was almost noon already and I knew a lot of people would be leaving, so I ate my lunch with friends and we decided to wait out traffic. We even walked outside to greet the snow with some excitement.

 We quickly realized there was no waiting for the traffic to die down. We were watching live news footage on the classroom's projector screen and all over the city roads were covered in ice and cars... cars... lots of cars. This was the first time I had heard the term "gridlocked," and I knew it wasn't good.  People being interviewed on the news were leaving their cars on the side of the road to walk home, or to their children in school, and then to just find a warm place to sleep through the night. Many people, specifically those that were still in their cars until darkness came to freeze more of the snow, were in a much worse situation than I was.  But it's a bit of a sinking feeling when you realize you are somewhere and you can't make it to where you want to be. A 10-15 minute drive away is impossible. It takes a little while to realize. Normal days on the highways are busy with cars zooming around each other - people in a hurry. But not this night. The roads were all stand-stills, including University Boulevard, right in front of my school.

Some girl friends and I debated to spend the night in the school, but were thankfully offered a couch at another friend's apartment in walking distance. We walked through the snow then, finally seeing what was happening outside. Cars for as far as the eye could see down University Boulevard, cars sliding back down hills, and wrecks all over. We were all so very thankful for our warm and comfy place to stay (and the delicious food that was made for us)!  On Wednesday we all wanted to figure out a way home. Thanks to more friends with vehicles capable of handling ice and snow, some of us were able to get a ride home. Well, close to home. We live in a valley between two hills - a hill along our path that was clogged with cars and trucks. So that our driver didn't get stuck as well, we told him to turn around while he still could, and we would walk the rest of the way. 1.8 miles, which is not nearly as far as others walked. Once we made it passed were the cars could go, the roads were wide open with nearly untouched powdery snow. It was then that I could finally appreciate its beauty. I had been being selfish that the weather had ruined so many people's day(s) that I couldn't let myself enjoy this rarity. It probably had to do a little with the hope of being so close to home, as well.

(Nick & Alicia were my hiking buddies. Thankfully they were going to the same place!)

We made it - sweating in 30 degree weather. Home here has never looked so good. Again, I realize hundreds, maybe thousands of people, had a much more severe and alarming situation. I cannot imagine being a parent that couldn't get to their child, or someone away from life-sustaining medications, or in labor on the interstate that wasn't budging (yep... that happened - in Birmingham and Atlanta).  

So in honor of High Five for Friday - here are my favorite moments from this week's choas:

1. The top spot goes to this humble, dedicated doctor. Watch his interview after surgery HERE. 

2. Chilck-Fil-A handed out free sandwiches to those stuck in their cars. Just another reason to love Chick-Fil-A.

3. My friend Kelsey's response to my message that we were walking home, before she realized it was not from downtown. Can you tell she's a mom? Hilarious.

4.  It was a wonderful to see how a city like Birmingham worked together to help each other through a difficult couple of days. Maybe it has something to do with Southern hospitality. I'd like to think so. HERE is an article full of "Good Samaritan" stories.

5.  The fact that my husband was away on a work trip, which meant he was not trapped in his office for the night or stuck on 280. Also that each one of my friends were safe and warm through the night, either by making it to their own homes or each others'.

I was back to my normal routine today, and there is only patches of snow that remain, along with a few abandoned cars here and there. Thankfully it didn't take long to return to normal around here.