It's been a crazy day, and I'm about to go upstairs and crash. Let me tell you the story:
It started snowing last night, after a couple days where we could see the green grass. David had an exam at 8:00 this morning, so I told him I would get up and shovel for him in the morning so he wouldn't have to worry about it, and so I could get him to his exam on time.
DJ woke up at 5:30 this morning, I fed him, and then soon it was 6:00- and I was up and out the door by about 20 after. I literally just threw on a sweater and pants over my PJs... put on my boots, gloves and jacket and stepped out into 6+ inches of white. It took me about an hour to get the shoveling done, but I did it!
I came back inside, David had woken up because poor DJ had been crying the whole hour- he didn't go back to sleep once I left- poor babe. I changed his diaper and snuggled him a bit before throwing together breakfast and lunch for David. I was debating whether or not I would go out and get my grocery shopping done after taking D to school, or if I'd come back and do a few things that needed to be done at home before I headed out again. With 15 minutes to get D to his exam, it was decided that I'd probably come home first before going out shopping- so I popped DJ in his car seat, grabbed my jacket, wallet & keys, and got the car running. David followed me with his backpack, and we were off!
Or so we thought. I tried to pick up enough speed with the Jetta to get out into the street where it had been driven on a bit, but on first try, I didn't succeed. It took a little bit of rocking and a push from D to get me back into the drive way for a second try. Both David and I figured once I was moving and in the tracks that were already there, we'd be golden.
Wrong.
Very wrong.
20 minutes later, we were only a block and a half from our house. David was freaking out as he was already late at this point, and it seemed like we were stuck for good. He was trying to call the school, wondering if he should just run to the main road and try to hitch a ride, go back and ask our neighbors to drive him, or get out and try pushing again. DJ could tell that daddy was upset, and so he started fussing and crying, which I'm sure didn't help daddy's stress level either.
A nice couple in a Land Rover showed up at that point- asked us if we needed a push. We explained the situation and the lady offered to drive David if we needed. The husband wanted to try pushing us out, so we did. I backed up way to far the first time. The good thing about that was it got the attention of one of the other neighbors who was out shoveling, and he came over to help push us too.
Between the three of them- a man on his way to work, David in his summer shoes and no gloves, and the neighbor who had been shoveling, we did get the car to the main road- a full 45 minutes after we backed out of our driveway.
Sounds like an adventure right? Wait- there's more:
I dropped off a 40 minute late David off, and weighed my options. There was pretty much zero chance of me being able to get the car all the way back home until either the roads were plowed, or at least more cars had driven over it to "plow" the snow that my car didn't clear. Oh how I wished I had brought my knitting! Selfish me. Not only did I not have my knitting to occupy myself for however many hours I would be stuck away from home, but I didn't have a diaper bag for DJ either. Neither of us had eaten breakfast, brushed our teeth, or gotten dressed for the day. I didn't have my coupons or grocery list for shopping- but that didn't stop me from going to Meijer. Prepared baby food, spoons, bananas, sposies (diapers), wipes, and blueberry turnovers for me. I did manage to remember a couple of the things that were on my list, but not many.
Outside to the car for a cold, odd breakfast, inside to the Meijer's bathroom for a diaper change, outside to the car to drive back towards home to see if the roads were cleared. They weren't. They didn't look that drivable either.
I kept making loops around the city- over to my local yarn shop, which thankfully wasn't open or I might have bought myself a new project to work on while I was waiting, down to where my church is to the McDonald's for a sweet tea cause I didn't grab myself a drink in Meijers... each time circling by my neighborhood to check on the progress. DJ eventually fell asleep, but he only got about 1.5 hours of sleep between his 5:30 AM original wake up and when he woke up at 12:15.
It was around noon when I decided that one of the roads looked like it might be clear enough to attempt. I approached it at a running start to get over the initial snow plow hump, and proceeded fairly smoothly down the street. With no cars around anywhere (but with plenty of neighborly witnesses) I made a nice "rolling stop" through the 4 way, (read: slowed to 18mph from 20- any slower and I would have been stopped permanently) and bravely took the curve towards my house. For every inch of ground I covered, I lost momentum, and by the time I was at the base of my driveway, I was at a stand still. Totally stuck. Luckily, it was my driveway, with my shovel nearby, and it didn't take too long for me to dig myself out. With only two cars behind the Jetta waiting for me to get out of the way, I rocked and edged my way closer until my tires caught the cement of the bare driveway from my amazing shovel job that morning, and I soared up to the garage.
We didn't take the car out the rest of the day, and I am so hoping that the roads will be plowed before tomorrow when I have to take D to school at 8:00. Today he got a ride back to the edge of the neighborhood with a classmate, and he walked from there.
Well, I'm going to go crash now. I hope you enjoyed hearing my crazy story about my crazy day.
