The truth is… as a kid… I lived for snow days! I mean, really… who didn’t? I had the phone number for the bus garage memorized, and I kept my purple phone by the head of my bed (not a cell phone, mind you… just a good old land line). That way, I could dial the number, listen to the automated message, and if school was closed; I could roll over and resume my hibernation for a couple of extra hours! Later, of course, I would get into all of my snow gear and play outside (most often sledding in my own backyard with the neighborhood kids). Looking back on it, it feels as if we stayed out for hours. I’m not sure if that’s accurate, though, because it seems that my own kids only make it 1 – 1 ½ hours tops… and maybe I wasn’t really a whole lot more resilient. When I was done playing outside, there was ample hot chocolate waiting for me in the kitchen.
This kind of thing happened maybe once a year… The only exception was the true blizzard we had when I was probably 9 or 10. It was a really bad idea to go out and play in that one, because the snow was covered with ice, and I fell and smashed my face in it… I think we got two days for that one…
At any rate, I grew up in Michigan. If you grow up in Michigan and you have a responsible parent, he or she takes you outside when you are 15 and the roads are covered with ice. He or she then says, “Here are the keys… it’s a good day to learn how to drive!” You get into the car, and you are expected to go from 0 to 120 in 3 seconds. You are then instructed to hit the brakes as hard as you can, and if you can regain control of the vehicle, you are allowed to take Driver’s Ed. the following summer. If you crash the car, you are banned from driving until you turn 31. That’s just how you have to do it in Michigan. (And, as a sidenote, this can all take place in your driveway, or at the very most, on your private dirt road, while all of your neighbors watch and shield their children from possible disaster.
Exaggeration? Maybe a little… but I really did learn to drive on sleet…
I also remember countless days, trying to make my way to the school bus and slipping and falling on the ice. It happened every year. It was embarrassing.
Now, I am all for caution! If you are uncomfortable driving on the roads, then by all means, PLEASE stay off of them. I say this for your safety as well as my own. The truth is; I don’t really worry a whole lot about my own driving abilities in the snow… and on the ice. But I do worry a great deal about other drivers. I am an extremely defensive driver in the winter months, because I know full well that not everybody learned to drive in Michigan. It scares me that an awful lot of people think you can drive just as fast as usual over the ice and they don’t leave extra time to brake. These two mistakes are often very costly. That’s precisely why Michigan parents have their children make these mistakes on purpose. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll never want to do it again!
I guess all of these thoughts came from the debates I’ve seen going on this week on facebook. I realized, yesterday, that people are starting to get a little upset with one another over whether this stuff is safe to drive in or not. Then it occurred to me that I was probably falling way on the “apathetic about snow and ice” side, and I wanted to share a little bit of background. People who do not feel safe or who do not have experience driving in this should not do so! I value all of my friends, and I would not want any of them to meet a tragic fate because of this weather. However, I do not really think it is treacherous out there if you are used to the snow and ice and know how to handle it properly. That said, I haven’t left the house since Sunday. I have had no need to go out, since the refrigerator is stocked (thanks, Phil), and all of the kids classes have been cancelled all week.
If you cannot avoid going out, and snow and ice make you nervous, PLEASE drive very slowly and carefully, do not hit your brakes hard (you really shouldn’t need to if you’re driving very slowly and carefully), use your lights (even during the day), make sure you’re not going any faster than your visibility allows, watch for other drivers (maybe the very most important), and if you have to pull over and call off, then do it! Although I have heard the argument that some people cannot afford to miss a day of work, I’m still thinking it’s better for your family if you miss one day than it is if you are killed trying to get there and miss the rest of your life!
Realistically, do I think the local schools needed to call another snow day today? No… I don’t. I think this makes the 4th or 5th snow day this year. As you probably know, we homeschool. We did, indeed, give in and take a snow day yesterday, but that has been our only one. We are currently involved in the two weeks a year when I teach for the ITBS. Although I find standardized testing to be quite important; I tend to be able to cover anything we’ve missed in a week or two. But this is a story for another day… probably later this month…
Drive Safe!
Lisa
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Edit: I cannot forget my Junior year, when everyone except for Juniors had a 2 hour delay for a week due to new standardized testing procedures that only affected our class. We had a pretty good snowstorm, but the administration would not call off school, because of the tests. Several students drove into ditches that morning, but still we had to keep on moving. When we were finally all there, they administered the tests, called off school for the rest of the students, and then wouldn’t let us drive home! L.
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