Storm Watch 2008

DA Da dum.......

Snow! Snow!!! We've just had 1 inch of snow!!

Remember way back in November and our trip to frigid Rockford? There was a snow "storm" there too. The big difference on the Rockford trip is that the impending snow was not the lead story on all the news media. And when planning our outings, when we mentioned that it was going to snow, folks would simply respond, albeit with a slightly confused look, "OK. I'll dress a little warmer."

Here on the other hand, it has been building to a frenzy for the last 3 days. If you're not from the south, you may think I'm kidding, but it has been the lead story in the newspaper, on the radio, and on the hyper-graphic, menacing music TV news coverage.

DA Da Dum.....

And I am SO A PART OF IT!!! I am so pathetic that I could barely get to sleep last night thinking about the snow!! And I kept waking up and pulling the blinds back so I could see if it was snowing or not. Of course, sleeping in a tiny bedroom has its advantages: I barely had to move my hand out of the covers to pull the blinds back to look out. And when I finally saw all the beautiful snow in the branches, my next set of obsessive dreams was whether daycare would be closed and if so, whether the university would be closed.

The university NEVER closes. Well, that's a lie. They close at the last minute when people are already driving to school. I've had students sliding down their driveways trying to make it to class only to finally scale the hill and find out they can go back home.

Until this year: The university closed early and closed for the day. We've had much, much, much worse storms and the U has stayed open.

I don't for sure know why, but I'm going to attribute this change to the university's new family friendly environment. With more women faculty who are usually part of working couples, and who often have children, when the schools close, but the university doesn't, there are real problems. Now, for today at least, there are not.

We're going to enjoy Conor's first real snow "storm" in Charlotte. (If only it would stop raining now)