stevenpiziks (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
stevenpiziks) wrote2022-02-19 08:47 am
stevenpiziks) wrote2022-02-19 08:47 am
An Early Start to Vacation
Friday was supposed to be the last day of school before mid-winter break. The week has been an awful slog. Slow, slow days. More conflict than usual with the students. (One kid exploded in class when I told him to put his phone away, dropped F-bombs on me, made sexual slurs at me, and more. He won't be back for quite a while.)
On Wednesday, the storm was moving steadily toward Michigan. Looked like it would start with rain that would shift to snow late in the night. At first, the reports said we wouldn't get much accumulation because the rain would leave standing water that would melt future snow.
Then it all changed.
Thursday, we got rain all right, and it puddled, gathered, and flooded. The ground is frozen, and the drains were overtaxed. Then the temperature dropped twenty degrees in a single hour. The standing water started to freeze, creating a layer of ice. Snow fell on top of it, and turned the roads and walkways into a mess.
An assistant principal came around to all the classes sixth hour to warn everyone that the sidewalks and parking lot were slick with ice, so be careful going outside--and driving home. All after-school activities were canceled.
I had started off the day privately giving us a 60% chance school would be canceled for Friday. By the end of the day, I was up to 75%. I made sure my classroom was set to be abandoned for mid-winter break and that I had everything from my room that I would need at home next week, waited until the traffic outside cleared up, and headed out.
I had PT (I always have PT), and found the driving sticky but workable. I stopped at the store, expecting a big crowd, but didn't encounter one. I stocked up on what we needed for the weekend, and headed over to PT for my thrice-weekly dose of pain and tension. When it ended at 4:30, I checked my phone. A semi-frantic message from Darwin said the roads were really bad and I should consider ending PT early to come home before they got worse. Well . . .
Outside, I found my car covered in two inches of snow snow with an underlayer of ice. (Remember that PT is 90 minutes.) I had to break in, scrub the snow off, and chisel the ice away. The drive home was way worse than the drive to PT. Fortunately, it was only a few miles. Slow and steady wins the race.
I got home without incident. By now we were in full storm conditions. A howling wind blew ice pellets and snow over everything. Darwin and I brought in the groceries and slammed the doors shut, feeling like we'd escaped a monster.
And a couple hours later, I got the phone call, text, and email to announce that school would be closed on Friday. Mid-winter break started a day early!
On Wednesday, the storm was moving steadily toward Michigan. Looked like it would start with rain that would shift to snow late in the night. At first, the reports said we wouldn't get much accumulation because the rain would leave standing water that would melt future snow.
Then it all changed.
Thursday, we got rain all right, and it puddled, gathered, and flooded. The ground is frozen, and the drains were overtaxed. Then the temperature dropped twenty degrees in a single hour. The standing water started to freeze, creating a layer of ice. Snow fell on top of it, and turned the roads and walkways into a mess.
An assistant principal came around to all the classes sixth hour to warn everyone that the sidewalks and parking lot were slick with ice, so be careful going outside--and driving home. All after-school activities were canceled.
I had started off the day privately giving us a 60% chance school would be canceled for Friday. By the end of the day, I was up to 75%. I made sure my classroom was set to be abandoned for mid-winter break and that I had everything from my room that I would need at home next week, waited until the traffic outside cleared up, and headed out.
I had PT (I always have PT), and found the driving sticky but workable. I stopped at the store, expecting a big crowd, but didn't encounter one. I stocked up on what we needed for the weekend, and headed over to PT for my thrice-weekly dose of pain and tension. When it ended at 4:30, I checked my phone. A semi-frantic message from Darwin said the roads were really bad and I should consider ending PT early to come home before they got worse. Well . . .
Outside, I found my car covered in two inches of snow snow with an underlayer of ice. (Remember that PT is 90 minutes.) I had to break in, scrub the snow off, and chisel the ice away. The drive home was way worse than the drive to PT. Fortunately, it was only a few miles. Slow and steady wins the race.
I got home without incident. By now we were in full storm conditions. A howling wind blew ice pellets and snow over everything. Darwin and I brought in the groceries and slammed the doors shut, feeling like we'd escaped a monster.
And a couple hours later, I got the phone call, text, and email to announce that school would be closed on Friday. Mid-winter break started a day early!