Stranded in the Snowpocalypse

After tears, frustration, and a dying cell phone battery, I decided to call it quits.

Luke's school sent an email saying that they were going to dismiss 45 minutes early- which was 12:15pm. I left my mom's house around 11:45am to be there early to "beat the rush" and we were in the car by noon. Little did I know, the preschool rush was the least of my worries.

I was actually making fun of how slow people were driving (it was pretty ridiculous). The roads were still clear and they were going 5mph.

I got about 4 miles from my mom's house and saw a school bus slide. That's when I realized things were getting bad and I should have turned around then.

I jumped on the loop which is like a small highway connecting a bunch of roads and it was stopped. And I saw 2 accidents. And it was at that point that I started reciting the traveler's Psalm (Psalm 121):

I will lift up my eyes to the mountains-
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
the maker of heaven and earth.

He will not let your foot slip-
He who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed, He who watches over Israel
will never slumber nor sleep.

The Lord watches over you-
the Lord is the shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day
nor the moon by night.

The Lord will keep you from all harm-
He will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

I kept saying to myself "He will not let your foot slip.... He won't let it slip." Luke asked who I was talking to ;)

I should have listened to my gut and stayed at my moms. But at the time I left the roads were fine. I thought sure the best way to go would be the highway since the roads would be warmer... but as I got close to 75 I realized I needed gas (well I was at half a tank, but if I got stranded then I would need more gas). That's when I decided to continue on to the alternate road. But it was a mess too. There just isn't anything you can do with untreated roads and ice. And by that point the snow was turning into ice. Nasty icy ice.

It took me 30 minutes to get in and out of the gas station. I grabbed a bunch of ridiculously overpriced snacks and filled up for... wait for it.... $3.49 a gallon :/ Once I got back on the road the bus that I had been behind was only 5 cars in front of me. That's when I decided on Plan B. There were cars slipping ALL OVER. It's at that time that I totally trust myself driving- but I don't trust all the other crazies on the road! By this point we had been in the car 3 hours.

All the motels were on the other side of the street, and it wasn't safe to cross. I decided to park on our side and walk to the motel. Once we parked (I got permission from a motorcycle shop to park in their lot), I loaded Luke up in the stroller and we walked about a block to a nearby motel. It's a dive and definitely not a Marriott, but we have heat, a bathroom, and each other!! As I was walking someone offered us a ride. Also I met another nice man walking and he said he lived about 1/2 a mile from where we were incase the motel didn't have rooms. He said he had kids and gave me his wife's number. Seemed like a nice guy and I would have taken his offer if the motel was full. Definitely still good people in the world. And it's amazing how everyone cares as soon as they see a stroller! :)

I'm thankful that we have our jackets (there's sometimes I leave without it since most of the time I'm just doing drop off/pickup at preschool). I'm thankful that Josh picked up Emberly from my moms on his way home (he had physical therapy this morning). Don't know what I'd do with her. I'm thankful that I grabbed our stroller this morning. I was thinking I  needed to bring Emberly in the post office this morning and didn't want to hold her/stand in line/write the address while wrestling her. I'm thankful I have my computer!! With the charger! I was going to work at my mom's house this morning while Luke was in school. I'm thankful that I took a shower this morning, so I won't feel too grungy tonight. I'm so thankful I grabbed snacks! And although they have a Dominoes card in the room I don't think Dominoes will be delivering tonight!!

Praying for a restful night and hopefully clear roads by tomorrow afternoon. You can bet I'm jumping in the shower as soon as I get home!!

2 comments :

  1. Wow, you seriously had a crazy day! But I'm glad y'all are safe and you had the thought to do everything you did to take care of yourselves. It seriously doesn't sound like you panicked at all! =)

    ReplyDelete