11 inches followed by ice is one thing, but the fact that it came down so incredibly fast is what threw everyone for a loop. This was compete madness. My attempt to pick my daughter up from daycare was foiled by my arch-nemesis, Gravity. Snow covered hills, great for sledding, not so great for front wheel drive.
My decision was this: turn around, get home, and assess the situation further. After a slow and treacherous drive in whiteout conditions I finally made it to the entrance to my neighborhood. Foiled again! Curse you gravity! To get to my street you have to go down a hill and back up.
You remember the Wii Fit Ski Jump Game? Imagine that, only instead of jumping at the end and it being awesome, instead you just get stuck with spinning tires and that burning rubber smell. Not nearly as fun. Add to the awesomeness the complete jerk that, when he got his giant white van stuck, in the middle of the road, at the bottom of the hill, decided to just leave it and walk home. Thanks dude.
So, since everyone was at a stand-still and no one was going anywhere for a while, I pulled my car to the curb (out of the way, see? Are you paying attention white vanny jerk-guy?) and started hoofing it home. 2, maybe 3 blocks, not a bad walk even with snow and sleet. My wife joined me on foot as she was 3 cars down.
So there we were. At home, out of the mess. No cars, no little girl. Not cool.
The babysitter said everything was fine on her end and, worst case scenario, Emma could spend the night there. Reassured, it was time to suit up. I put on my sweatpants, the jeans my wife won't let me wear in public, Bass Pro hoodie, and the boots I use when I'm Santa. Let's do this. On a mission, we set out with our trusty snow shovels, ice scrappers, and a bag of ice melt with the sole intention of getting at least 1 of our cars to the house. On the way we meet up with our neighbors who are headed down the hill to help.
I love the fact that so many people were out to help. Random people, no last names, just Toms, Robs, and Adams appearing out of nowhere to lend a hand. We cleared at least 15 cars, digging them out, getting them unstuck, helping them get out of the middle of the road, getting them around the white van (jerk) and pushing them up the hill. One of those cars we got up the hill was my wife's. After doing this for 3 hours, we all needed a break.
After a nap, some hot chocolate, and a couple of coughing fits to get all the exhaust fumes out of my lungs, it was time to get back at it. It was almost 6 at this point, and luckily, someone who will not be named called that van in and had it towed . . . that helped out immensely. A few more cleared cars and I was able to get my car back home.
With both cars back we discussed how we should get Emma back home. Now, I have 2 feelings about this. 1. I want my daughter home safe and sound. 2. I don't want to get stranded on the road somewhere with her in the back seat. Our babysitter assured us it was no problem to have her spend the night. She also mentioned her street was a mess with abandoned cars littered everywhere. So we decided that leaving her there was best.
I don't feel bad about leaving her there. She was safe, she spends over 8 hours there every day during the week, and getting stuck with her would be awful. That being said, I also feel horrible about it. You would think a night without kids would be a lively affair, but no, we did nothing that night. Nothing but send text messages back and forth to the babysitter to see how she was doing. then a somber march to bed at 9 o'clock.
Emma did just fine. When Friday morning came I went off to work while my wife prepared to go get her. I got a text that she had picked Emma up. When we asked how much we owed the babysitter for watching her overnight she said not to worry about it, pay it forward. Her neighbors cleared off her driveway because they know she has 4 kids of her own and her husband was away on business. Sometimes, people are just awesome.
Sure enough, a half hour after the text, I got the call. She was stuck in the middle of our babysitter's road. Luckily, she was able to get into the driveway and our good friends Leigh and Michael that live right down the road from the babysitter's were able to get there in his 4-wheel-drive and give them a lift home. So now, everyone is home, and we only down one car.
Pay it Forward. I'd like to say we paid it forward plenty by helping out all those cars down and back up the hill. But I don't think Pay it Forward has a 1-to-1 cost. It's more of a way of doing things. Something I need to incorporate more.
And, of course, I should get a book on it too.
After a simple catalog search, I'd like you to meet selection #19: 1,000 Mitzvahs by Linda Cohen. Mitzvah is a Hebrew word meaning an act of human kindness.
Stay safe out there folks, and remember to avoid the white vans that life puts in your way.
