A delayed day back to school

Today my kids went back to school. Winter Break had come to an end.

Well, it had actually ended on Wednesday, but we got hit by snow and so Wednesday was declared a Snow Day. So was yesterday. The weatherman had been predicting snow for weeks but the snow never came. Sure, we got an ice storm, but no snow. (They are predicting another ice storm will hit tonight, too.) Well, we finally got the snow. I was actually surprised to see it finally snowed after they said on the news that it would snow. Even the weather app on my phone showed it would snow on that day.

It’s not like we had several inches of snow – I think it was like two inches – but it was still enough to declare the roads unsafe for driving. I was actually pretty grateful for that. I am not very experienced in driving in the snow and I tend to avoid it if I can. (Years of living in California spoiled me with snowless winters! I have lived in Connecticut, Illinois and Missouri and it snowed in all 3 of those states that I lived there but before moving to Oregon, I lived in California for 15 years. I got used to not having any snow! And, yeah, I know it’s been 12 years since I moved to Oregon but I’m still iffy with the snowy weather. LOL)

All the same, people still drove on those icy and snowy roads, only because they HAD to (jobs to get to and all).

My kids were actually pretty happy to have a Snow Day. I was the first to get up on that day, ready to go through the motions of a school morning. But then I saw that schools were closed. Trevor woke up next and she was excited that there was snow. So excited, in fact, that she woke up Jesse. They immediately got dressed to go outside and play in the snow. They had a lot of fun playing in the snow and I took lots of pictures. (It was not a good idea to go out there when they were having a snowball fight because they ended up throwing some of those snowballs at me!) I also made them hot chocolate after they came in from playing, all wet and cold from the snow.

The kids were so excited about the snow and very happy to play in it. Jesse has been playing in it every chance he got.

So yesterday there was no school and I thought that since there was still snow and ice on the roads, the kids would not be going to school today either.

Wrong!

Trevor woke me up at 6:20 telling me that she was confused about what it said on the school district website. (See, I was so convinced last night that there would not be school that I didn’t set my alarm clock!) It said “no news=no change” and that usually means there was school today. I was really tired and bleary-eyed, though, so it took me a while to wake up and see everything clearly. I guess it had been the wrong night to stay up until 3 a.m.

I double-checked the school district website AND the news and they did indeed have school today. The website had no news and it said on the news “Buses on snow routes.” I also checked on Facebook and my friends were posting about how there was school today. There wasn’t a notice about schools being closed in the neighborhood watchgroup, either.

So, I guess they had school today!

Even so, I was still nervous about road conditions. I have been pretty much staying at home as much as possible and my husband has been driving on the roads. He took the kids to school this morning and he picked them up too. This would be the first time I would be driving a minivan on a snowy and icy road, so I am really nervous and I don’t know what to expect. (Today marks one year since we got the van!) I know I would have to drive at some point. Jesse has basketball practice next week – well, that is, depending on weather! It was cancelled this week because of road conditions. But I DO need to get over my fear, my anxiety, and try driving the van on the snowy and icy roads. I will have to get used to it at some point, anyway. Maybe I can work on that this weekend. I DO need to get out to the library….

The kids were actually happy to go back to school today. I would much rather put safety first, but I do feel that the kids DO need to go to school. Their last day of school last year was cancelled because of weather and their first day back at school was also canceled because of weather. But they went back to school today and they came home smiling. They were both glad to be back at school and they both had a good first day back. I suspect they missed seeing their friends and they miss the routine of school days.

And I’m glad we’re all back on track with the school schedule, too. As for me, my new schedule officially started today with the kids going back to school and it has gone well so far. I had a good “first day back” too. And I am loving this new schedule! It is much better.

I don’t know how much longer we will have the snow or how hard we’ll be hit by the coming ice, but I do know we’ll get through it and just be extra careful. We are prepared and at least the kids are enjoying winter weather just like I got to experience when I was their ages.