Snowy Day Thoughts

Time to think. No internet. I stopped at Starbucks. I wanted coffee and thought I might get free internet. Nope. This is a Tmobile hotspot and I could get a monthly plan for $4.99. It was tempting. But so was packing up and heading down the road to McDonalds.

The trip up here was awful. My nerves were already shot from the drive home last night. I had brought clothes and an overnight bag with me in case I needed to stay. I should have. The roads were slushy last night going home. It continued to rain and then froze and then snowed. I travel to Norwalk and Sandusky via a truck route and honestly, I thought (hoped) it would be treated better.

Most of the way I had at least one semi-clear tire path to drive in. The closer I got to Norwalk the worse the roads got. A band of rough packed snow-ice had formed on the birm-side of the road. In Norwalk I put the 4WD on and prayed hard. The road between Norwalk and Sandusky is 4 lane normally. Today it was barely two. But wait it gets better!

I get to the Job Store and no one is there. I tried calling there and the Job and Family Services offices and I got no answer at either place. So then while I’m trying to find out what’s going on in the office the big snow mover that’s been plowing up huge piles in the parking lot breaks down right behind my car. I’m not going anywhere fast. Good thing I don’t go anywhere without my PalmPilot which is loaded with games (always best to keep an ENFP, otter, with ADHD occupied).

And now I’m sitting here. I should probably go meet with some employers, but I just don’t feel like it. Besides I left all my employer contact information at the church (along with all my participant files) when class was over last night. Brain fart.

I did have an epiphany of sorts as I drove to work this morning. Perhaps it was more of a paradigm shift, but whichever: I now have a new perspective and I had to pray a prayer asking forgiveness. Here’s what happened:

The roads in town were fine. As I reached the north edge of town and began driving in the country I found myself ahead of one driver, then two, then several. I am a firm believer that if there’s weather (rain, snow, fog, sleet, any combination of the above--even dark sometimes) that prudence (and perhaps cowardice) substantiates at least a five mile reduction in speed (mph). But here’s the thing: I’m about the biggest weather weenie that you’re ever going to find and if I don’t think there’s reason to slow down, then neither should you.

Because of this way of thinking I can often be found to be grumbling about the person at the head of the line who is traveling at a speed of way less than the customary and allotted five mile reduction. Grumbling may be a bit of an understatement. At times I get loud and may make some angry hand gestures followed by some comment of my grandmother’s driving prowess.

Today I was at the head of the line. And it occurred to me that there was probably not one person driving a car or truck behind me who was satisfied with my cautious nature. I was averaging between 48-50mph which I thought was generous given the conditions. I pointed out to no one listening several occasions where if they wanted to go faster they go just pass me, but no one took me up on the offer. So follow they did.

My jaw was clenched. My wrists ached from the way I was grasping the steering wheel. I could only imagine the comments that were being made about me and my grandmother. In that imagining, not a single one of those comments sounded like: “Wow, nice and safe driving.” “Thanks for being cautious, it’s getting me there safely, too.” What dawned quite clearly on me was that those were the things I longed to hear and if I did perhaps those were the kinds of thoughts I needed to be thinking and lifting for the people driving in front of me on those occasions when I’m not first in line.

Two other thoughts occurred to me while I made me up the road. First, I’m thankful that somewhere along the line I decided that I was going to be the kind of person that left early so I didn’t have to rush. Rushing, in my opinion, is never a good thing and good things never come out of rushing. So please, don’t try to push me down the road. I hate to admit it, but I have a bit of a stubborn streak and if you try to make me speed up: I slow down. I tried not to give in to that this morning, but the Wrangler following me needed to just pass me if they were in that much of a hurry.

The second thing is more of an admonition--sort of like something your mom or grandmother would say. Clean off your car before you start driving. I don’t mean clean of a little circle in the middle of your windshield so that you can almost see what’s directly in front of you. Clean it all off. Clean off the entire windshield and back window and the side windows. Clean off the front hood of your car so that the snow there doesn’t blow at you and blind you. Clean off your front lights (which should be on by the way) and your turn signals. Clean off your taillights so that I can tell when you’re stopping. I determined today that looking at how someone cleans off their car would be an interesting thing to do before hiring them. It would tell you how thorough they are. It would tell you how mindful they are of their own safety and the safety of others. These are things an employer might be interested in knowing.

Well, I left Starbucks and drove back by the Job Store. Still not open. So I drove over and walked around the mall. No jobs there. I used to go to that mall when I was a kid. There are some popular stores but almost half the stores are closed. As I was leaving I wandered in to Macy’s. They were having a buy one get one free sale. I got a pair of jeans and a top that’s a faux shirt sweater thing. I like those because it looks nice but is only half the weight--which is important because I get really warm teaching.

The class went really well this afternoon. I love doing this.

The roads were dry most of the way home. It was nice! And now I’m home, momentarily. If I can get off the couch I’m going to choir practice.