The Worst Winter

My son's best friend announced to me in August that "This is gonna be the worst winter in history!" Worse for who, I wondered.

My 15 year-old son looked at me with a "Ya, you wait, we're gonna have a million snow days" look. I laughed and said to my son's friend, "Really, have you been taking meteorology classes, J.R.? I bet you say that at the start of every school year! Wishful thinking!"

J.R. turned out to be right. It's January 7th, and the kids have already missed 8 days due to weather. Today is the 8th day. I'm home because the house I'm scheduled to clean is owned by and husband and wife who are both high school teachers. They are home and say the roads are awful. Are snow days happy days for teachers? I'll have to ask them sometime.

On Dec 12th, this area had an ice storm which crippled us for over a week. Hundreds of thousands were without power when trees snapped like potato chips under the huge weight of the ice. We were without power or heat for 6 days. We were one of the luckier ones, with only two trees through the roof.

I had to shipped my teens off to their friends' houses who had wood stoves or generators. I had neither. What I did have was a large old sweet dog who I couldn't readily pack up and move into a hotel with. So, my fiance' and I stayed at the 37 degree house at night, and took my dog Rose out for slow runs when the sun came out each day to warm her up. Thankfully, Rose has a fur coating that would put any bear to shame.

My clients were out of power as well, so I lost a week of work. It was not a pleasant occurrence 2 weeks before Christmas. My kids were in "snow day" heaven. My son was staying at J.R.'s house. I guess J.R.'s father must have the inside scoop on the weather, because he immediately ran out and got the last generator in stock at the local Home Depot.

The area was deemed a "State of Emergency". The high school was a shelter. Light companies and tree companies from different states were summoned to get the streets cleared of trees and power lines back up. I have never seen anything like it.

After a week, this kids got back to school on a Thursday. Thursday evening we got 18 inches of now and school was cancelled Friday. "Snow Day!!" J.R. was clapping wildly while watching the school closing announcements, I'm sure. "I told her so!" he was thinking, with the evil teenage grin.

This has been the worst winter ever for adults. I think it has even topped the blizzard of '78. Well, back in the blizzard of '78 , I was 15. My opinion may be skewed.

Right J.R.?