It took me almost all day to figure out why people were calling Tuesday, January 28 the 'Snowpocalypse'. Our day started out...pretty awesome. My friend, Mivvi, and I took the kids out to Airwalk down 280. And I mean DOWN 280. If you're not from Birmingham, 280 is a traffic nightmare on the mildest, most beautiful day of the year. If there's a cloud in the sky, you better drop what you're doing and get in your car and find the nearest backroad to get off 280. If there's snow...you should just pitch a tent where you are. Because you're not getting ANYWHERE.
So...here we are at Airwalk Tuesday morning.
This place was George's dream-come-true. One huge trampoline!
After we finished jumping, we all decided to head to Chick-Fil-A for a fun lunch all together. George was PUMPED! He loves Mivvi's kids. He loves Chick-Fil-A. He was elated!
This picture was taken FIVE hours into our drive. We had made it about 1.5 miles at this point. George was still asking about Chick-Fil-A. He wanted to know where Carly and Laney were (Mivvi's twin girls). He just wanted to know WHY we were stuck in the car.
I was wondering why he wouldn't take off that jacket.
(in case you are wondering- he NEVER took off the jacket or hood throughout the 8 hour debacle)
Anyways...I didn't have a single thing in the car with me. No diapers. No movies. No toys. I did find 2 Thomas the Train books, but I didn't have the 'computer' that reads the books for George. I had 2 bags of snacks (think...personal bag of goldfish) to last George, essentially, all day.
Mom of the year.
After 6 grueling hours...I see this sight.
CLAY!
He fought through the crowds, wrecked cars, snow, ice, and everything else that would have kept him from being with us, and walked miles down 280 just to sit in the car with us and keep us company.
Not only did he keep me company, but he brought a backpack! The backpack was filled with DVDs, toys, and CHICK-FIL-A! It sort of reminded me of the cornucopia in The Hunger Games- it had something (or several things) we desperately needed.
Once Clay got to us, it was another 2ish hours until this was happening. In short, it was an 8-hour-drive home. George was awesome. He was cool as a cucumber in the back. I was having emotional break-downs at pretty regular intervals.
All-in-all...Tuesday was a pretty brutal day.
But then we woke up...and it was Wednesday!
All-in-all...Tuesday was a pretty brutal day.
But then we woke up...and it was Wednesday!
Since Clay was home with us all day, I made a big breakfast and then we bundled up to go outside.
As part of my strategy to stay positive on Tuesday, I promised George that we would build a snowman as soon as we got home. I had no idea we would be getting home well after dark, and that no one would be in any emotional state to have any sort of fun in the snow.
Here...George is gathering sticks for Olaf's arms and 'hair'. (If you haven't seen Frozen..go see it!)
Then, in typical Clay fashion, he made the day even more fun! He jimmy-rigged a sled for George which of course George thought was hilarious.
Then we took it on the ice for the real fun!
Then our neighbors got home and got out the REAL sled!
John Grady was the best pusher :)
Here's our Olaf!
Olaf the Snowman
Overall, this is for sure the most memorable 'snow day' I think I've ever had. People were calling it the Snowpocalypse because it really looked like the rapture had happened- and we were just all left behind! I heard story after story of how the surprise of this snow/ice storm affected so many families, and even separated some families for days, I just couldn't stop thinking of the kids that were stuck at daycare/Mother's Day Out and had to spend the night away from their parents. I know that kids and adults will remember this event in such different ways- and I am thankful for that. George will just remember watching two back-to-back movies in the car and eating Chick-Fil-A. I will remember the hours of panic wondering when we would ever make it home. I will never forget the hundreds of abandoned cars that clogged the icy streets and made it almost impossible for us to get home. Clay will always remember the cars floating in the Cahaba River and walking 7 miles just to get to George and me.
Thankfully- the rest of our snow days were a whole lot more fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment