Snow Day

I'd been beginning to wonder if they ever get snow in Vancouver. Now I can wonder no more - it finally snowed today. The kids and I were getting on with our usual morning routine, and suddenly Megan looked outside and noticed that the ground was covered in snow and it was still falling.

Now, in Toronto when this happens, there are a huge variety of ways to find out if your kid's school is open for the day. Radio, school board website, recording on the school's answering machine, etc. Not here apparently. By the time I found out from Megan's school secretary that school was in fact open, it was way too late to take her to the bus stop. And frankly, I am glad I didn't have to take her up to the bus, because it took me almost an hour and a half to drive to the meeting I had to go to this morning (usually takes me 15-20 min) and a trip up to the bus stop would likely have added another 30-45 minutes on top of that.

The roads were bad, but the traffic was moving at a crawl so there was very little danger - except on hills where you really need to keep your car moving so you don't end up spinning out halfway up. Luckily that didn't happen to us. I was extremely grateful for the TV in the car which kept the kids from bickering in the back seat or peppering me with questions while I was trying to drive in stressful conditions.

All this annoying *weather* really threw a wrench in my plans for the day but I tried to take it philosophically. I was really late for the meeting (I was supposed to facilitate, so everyone had to sit and talk until I got there) and had to bring both kids with me. But, thanks to the snow, the kids played out in the backyard of the person who hosted, which was really great because it meant I didn't have to deal with Calum during the meeting. I wasn't able to have my weekly lunch date with Jeff, but instead, got to spend the afternoon enjoying some time alone in the living room while the kids played outside in the snow with one of the kids who lives next door. So it's been a nice day, just not what I expected.

Jeff's on his way home from work (after working past midnight that last two days) and we are ordering takeout from the wonderful Indian restaurant across the street, to celebrate our tenth wedding anniversary (!!!).