Mother Nature gives day 6

Well, the Lord giveth, the district tries to taketh away. That is pretty much the story of today. Let's back up and review the month of February, shall we? We'll even leave out the whole kick off on Monday, January 29, when a blizzard was predicted well in advance but our Super was playing God and chose not to dismiss before it hit. We learned, via channel 9's website, that one of our district's buses rolled over. 7 were sent to the hospital and all were forever changed. Our first snow day was a peace offering, Tuesday, January 30. But like I said, we will leave all that out.

So we worked February 1 and 2. Winter was scheduled to arrive in full force on Sunday the 4th. Sure enough, I couldn't make it out of my driveway and had to cancel my church school class. The snow came as predicted and we got our first legitamate snow day on Monday. How exciting it was! A day to stay home and watch tv, read, cook, eat. Tuesday came and other districts remained closed. We went with a 2 hour delay. A very nice bonus. Wednesday also warranted a 2 hour delay. We certainly were getting used to these bankers hours!

Thursday arrived and the weather was still center stage. Oswego was closed yet again, while the county remained in a state of Emergency. Celebrities were flocking to Mexico and Parish to report live and give the weather report. Red Creek managed to go to school on time that day, although I was unable to see the bottom of my driveway and had to call in at 8am. Having planned to be out for the afternoon anyway, I couldn't see the point of killing myself to get there for the morning, only to possibly be trapped for the afternoon. It cleared temporarily later, long enough for us to make a scheduled Dr. appointment. Red Creek decided to play it safe and dismiss an hour early. That bus incident still replaying like a bad dream.

Friday came and we closed after a 2 hour delay and several plans in place for what I was doing. The weather was roaring and kept me from driving to Syracuse for the workshop I was scheduled to attend. Cutting all the details of this story, which could be a separate blog in itself, we were IN for the day.

The weekend gave little reprieve. I left here for my grocery shopping on Saturday with the sun shining and the roads clear only to run into the yellow radar of white out conditions. I made it home, filled our fridge and our pantry, happy to be home. In the meantime, our church school coordinator decided to cancel for the next day.

Sunday was the one bright spot. It was clear and sunny. Dave, Jillian and I went to Syracuse for a brief shopping trip and out to lunch. Ethan went with a friend to the Hannibal Winterfest and won first place in the snow sculpture contest.

School returned and life was back to normal on Monday and Tuesday. In the midst of this little calm arrived my first nephew, Owen William! Born at 5:18am on Tuesday, weighing in at a lucky 7 even!! I was dying to get up to that hospital to see him while the weather was holding off. NOT SO FAST, laughed mother nature. A huge noreaster was in the works. It was all the buzz at school on Tuesday and bets were placed on when we'd see each other again. As we left school, see ya in March was the joke. February 26, to be more accurate, but at the same time, that is the first week of March. I did make it up there to see Owen, and back home in time before Mother nature struck again.

Sure enough, all schools in a radius of 100 miles were closed. Valentine's day was spent at home with kids. It was kind of nice and we were happy to get it. On Thursday my children returned to school on time, but Red Creek felt the need to delay. I was happy with this and looked forward to a 2nd cup of coffee, putting my kids on the bus here, a late shower and a shortened work day. NOT SO FAST! We closed for day #5 at 7am. Quite the shock. It didn't even seem that bad! But mother nature had plans for more horror later in the day.

Today, Friday February 16 brought snow day #6. The weather band sat right over our district and several others, closing several once again. Could this really be real? A total of 7 working days between Feb 1-Feb 26? NOT SO FAST. The principal called with news of a plan to bring us in for a couple of days next week. In a way we were expecting it, but a little voice in the back was saying, not so fast! Someone very much on top of things gently reminded our Superintendent that we have 7 days in which we can use in case of an emergency and that he already has a plan in place in the event that ALL SEVEN of those days are used. After a brief scramble, we received this email:

Good Morning everyone, Today, Friday the 16th, is our 6th snow day of the year. We have one more built into the calendar. Considering the forecast for next week and the amount of snow we have received recently, we will not try to make up any days over the February break period. This means that if we have to close for more than one day after the break, we will have to make up the days as necessary. The school calendar calls for April 13, 12, and 11 as emergency make-up days respectively. There are other options that may be feasible i.e. student day on Good Friday and conference day after graduation, but it all depends on how many make-up days are required (some years March has been cruel month weather wise). Hopefully, we will not have to cut into the April break and the snow will avoid us in the future. If you're a faculty member enjoy the time off next week. If you're a 12 month employee, enjoy the holiday on Monday. Take care and be safe!

So, it looks as if we are in the home stetch. Perhaps if mother nature calms down we will make it to our April vacation without having to use day #7. But even if she has other plans, we still do have that day. What an unbelievable month this has been.