Snowed In, Twenty-Ten

Snowed out, actually.

The flurries started here around lunch time yesterday, and by 5, the ground was covered in white. Fear-stricken citizens of Liberty and surrounding areas hurried to their local grocery stores for a few last-minute necessities. It becomes a dangerous world out there once word of a blizzard reaches the town's people. Your best friend will cut your throat for the last loaf of bread. It's survival of the fittest and only the strong survive.

Okay, maybe I've embellished a little. If we're lucky, we get one good snow day a year in the upstate. And our standards for a "good" snow day are relatively low, at that. If it comes in real snow form (not that trickery that is sleet) and sticks long enough for us to take a picture of our snowmen for facebook, we're happy...ecstatic, really. So maybe it isn't really "survival of the fittest," but our fear of being snowed in is very real. Oddly enough, so is our demand for bread and milk. So I guess it's more like "only the strong will get sandwiches and cereal tomorrow."

I can't explain why people do this. I have lived in the upstate my whole life, and I can honestly say that I do not remember a single time in my life that snow and ice ever kept anyone in town off of the roads for more than 2 days. I've decided that if I'm only going to be snowed in for a day or two, I want to have the good stuff. So while everyone else fights over the last gallon of 1 percent, I'll be over in the freezer aisle stocking up on cookie dough and Mr. P's pizzas. I'll get the last laugh when they're back to grab a bag of potato chips after the snow has turned to ice in the morning--which always happens, without fail.

I digress...

This morning, I had to brave the aftermath of the storm and venture onto the "black ice" that covered the roads. I knew the dangers, but I had an obligation to tend to at work. Several other cars were on the road, so I decided that they'd probably caused a lot of the ice to melt. I was just going to drive slow.

As I was coasting at a steady 15 mph down Clemson Boulevard (that's no joke--I'm a chicken!), I hit a thick patch of ice that bumped me into the left lane. Fortunately, there were no cars next to me, and I was able to safely regain control of my car. At that point, I realized that the highway wasn't a safe place to be, even if I was going slow. It was too late though. I was 10 miles from home and 10 miles from work. There didn't seem to be much point in turning back then.

It ended up taking me an hour and a half to make a 30 minute trip to work (I told you I was a chicken!), so I had a lot of time to do some thinking along the way. My hands were trembling, and my heart would start racing every time I went over a patch of ice that caused my car to slide slightly to one side or the other. I noticed ditches and fields and huge trees that I had never even noticed before. I've probably made that ride a thousand times, but I never felt threatened by it until today. Each time I made it over a bridge or past a shaded spot, I'd let out a sigh of relief.

God gives me another shot at life with each day He allows me to remain on this earth. I'm not going to say that I almost died today, but the fear of having my life threatened made me appreciate the simple things that I forget to appreciate on a regular basis. I don't thank God every single time I arrive safely to my destination, but I certainly did today. That's something I should do more. I should just be excited to be alive.

While I was driving, my thoughts got kind of deep. It occurred to me that this could be the last time I ever drive a car. God already has a plan for me. What if I had been in an accident? Maybe I'd even survive, but with some handicap. So many thoughts were running through my mind. I thought about all of the things I want to do with my life. I sort of mentally noted that if God let me make it to work and home safely today, He still had a purpose for me here. I made it home today, so I know I still have a purpose here.

It's such an exciting feeling, anticipating God's will for me! A few good things are creeping up on me already. I was reminded of some things I can do for myself too. It seemed to be God's way of saying "Help Me help you."

So...basically, I want to thank God for life, for another chance. Also, thank God for keeping my family safe today, since I love them more than my own life. Last, but not least, thank God for the joy that came with Snow Day 2010. Watching my dog frolic in the snow made me laugh harder than I have in a while, and seeing everything covered in white, if only for a day, was absolutely beautiful!

P.S. Trivial fact: Yesterday, it snowed in every single state in the U.S. for the first time in recorded history. (This fact is courtesy of my roomie, so don't hold me to it!)