Big Snow II

I was up a couple minutes after 530am and saw that it was snowing at a pretty good clip. However, at least for the time being, we had no more than an inch of new accumulation. After exercises, I checked the forecast. They’re still calling for upwards of 10” by the time it ends on Wednesday. The current temperature was much more tolerable than Monday. It was a whopping 23 degrees. Before heading up with Mindy’s coffee I decided to check for school closings, although I doubted there'd be any. Imagine then how surprised I was to see that all of them; Dublin, Hilliard, and Southwestern were canceled. I headed upstairs to give Mindy the good news. But she already knew, having recently received the ‘chain’ phone call from one of her peeps. As I was heading back downstairs, Mindy wished me a happy 13th year running anniversary. A milestone I’d temporarily forgotten until she mentioned it. Actually, after today’s run, it would be 13 years. Mindy’s good fortune made my morning simpler, save for making my own breakfast. Since I was tired, I tried lying down on the sofa but ultimately talked myself out of it. Instead, I got up and did my meditation and stretch then dressed for my 13 year capper. How fitting, completing my 13th year running in a snow storm. I dressed in my typical winter garb and headed out into the snow. I passed Pat Shultz sitting in his pick-up with daughter Alena waiting on the school bus. It didn’t dawn on me until I turned the corner that there was no school. Obviously, they missed the memo! But because that’s on my warm-up lap, I’d pass them again in a minute or two. I tapped on his window as I passed again. He’d just gotten word via radio. We laughed it off. Must’ve wondered where all the other kids were.  I ran on enjoying the wintry conditions. I ran four miles with no trouble at all. Upon my return home I immediately fetched my snow shovel and got busy. It didn’t take long. I scattered some salt before heading back inside. No one was up, so I quietly went about prepping my breakfast – two eggs, juice, and an English muffin. Mindy & the kids were up by the time I had my breakfast and a shower. They were debating the merits of snow skiing or staying home and having a play date with Deena and kids. Bella and Mindy wanted to ski. Jacob wanted to stay home. I encouraged them to ski. Mindy talked about phoning Mary Ann since Tuesday’s often her day off. Mindy knew I planned to take Wednesday off as a comp day and head to the slopes. She joked that they’d get another snow day Wednesday and join me. AHHHHHHHHHHHH! I left for work around 8:20am. The drive in was slow but there were no major delays. The day started out much calmer than Monday. I was happy for that. I stayed busy all day long. I took several brief breaks to glance out the window at the wintry landscape. The snow was starting to pile up again today, just like last Friday. Mindy called mid-day to let me know that she and kids opted to remain at home and host a play date with Deena and her kids. Probably best given the horrendous conditions folks are talking about out towards MRM. I talked with Mindy again around 400pm. By then, the house was cleared of visitors and she was busy getting the house in order. Probably due to the wintry weather, this wouldn’t be a Jimaken night. That made sense to me. I didn’t even ask about dinner when Mindy & I last spoke. Lindsey phoned to let me know that hungry attorneys were already calling her house to encourage her to push for injury settlements for the boys after the mirror clipping incident. Good grief! I left work at or near 530pm. It took me a while to clear the snow from the Trooper. It was still snowing but far lighter than it had been for most of the day. Mindy had burgers on the stove when I arrived home. It felt good knowing that I had Wednesday scheduled off work. As it was, I was determined to make it a ski day. Meanwhile, Mindy & the kids remained hopeful that school would be canceled for a second day in a row. The forecast called for up to 4 more inches of snow with winds gusting upwards of 40mph. Jacob and I went back and forth all through dinner about whether or not they’d have school. He wanted to wager cash - $35. Yikes! Dinner clean-up was simple, thanks mostly to the usage of paper plates. Mindy and the kids had a fire going in the fireplace. I laid down in front of it and took brief nap while also watching the Science Channel. Tonight’s program featured the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is a particle collider straddling France and Switzerland. I eat that stuff up. Particle theory blows m away. That program was followed by another that dove deep into the details of gravity, featuring indepth looks into the science presented by Isaac Newton and Einstein. Nothing short of fascinating! Mindy and I headed to bed at practically the same time. I was really looking forward to a long night of sleep.