Thank God for an Inward Swinging Exit Door!

This picture courtesy of some stranger I've never met who doesn't know I am using it.

It takes a lot of snow to dishearten a Chicagoan.  20.6 inches is more than enough for any of us, though! We are prepared for the 1-2 inches that freak out warmer climates so well that we forget that they don't normally need to prepare for snow like we do, and don't.   But yesterday was enough to close Chicago Public Schools for at least two days.  Really.  The last time CPS closed was in 1999 (21.6 inches).   Really, when my friend Katdish said on her blog last year that they closed school for half an inch of snow, I laughed so hard that tears were falling down my cheeks.   I forgot that we have things like plows and salt trucks and drivers who are aware of precautions to take during snowfall and are therefore probably safer drivers when it snows or rains than they are in good weather.

I'd be a fool to complain too loudly about the blizzard, when there were so many people trapped in their cars on Lake Shore Drive for so many hours.  My husband was home early almost two hours early on Tuesday.   I was like a kid on Christmas morning!   I had thought he'd have to work until four, as usual, and then come home in the blinding snow alongside people who had left early, but his office closed early on Tuesday and all day on Wednesday due to the blizzard.   He walked in an I yelled "Wait there, I have something for you!" and the proceeded to maul him with a great big hug and a kiss!   He didn't seem to mind.

I didn't think I was worried, but the degree relief I felt when he was home (and early at that) indicates to me that I wasn't as relaxed as I had believed myself to be.  I told people verbally "This is Chicago, we know how to prepare for bad weather."   I even told myself that silently.   Who knew that I didn't trust me?

Bob is a terrific guy who insisted on cleaning the snow off the driveway himself.   He said it was a "man's job".  It's not like he'd ever refuse to do something because it's "women's work",  but God bless him, he steps up to the plate for the heavy lifting!  (My momma didn't raise a foolish woman.   I offered to help, and when he said no, I told him I'd be keeping the hot chocolate warm for him!)  He didn't complain either, though a wife can tell when her husband's back hurts him.   I think he was actually glad to get back to work today.

I didn't take pictures of the snow, but my cousin did.  I'll share them when she sends them if it is okay with her, because it is unBElieveABLE how much snow we had!   I couldn't open the front door.  I seriously thanked God that the back door swings inward!  I mean, really!  Who says "thank you, Lord, for providing us with an exit door that swings inward so that we aren't trapped inside all of winter?"  Apparently I do...

I called my uncle, aunt, and cousins yesterday.  All family members were safely at home and not caught in the awful LSD mess (we Chicagoans know that "LSD" stands for Lake Shore Drive.... ain't no road just like it!)  I'm sure though that if anyone who was stuck on it ever hears that song again in their lives, they will have a break down and crush the CD!  Anyway, I am grateful to God that we were all home yesterday.  Obviously the clean up efforts aren't easy, but home is the best place to be in a blizzard, especially if you have heat, power, and an intact roof, which we all did!  (Which reminds me, Thank you God for a good roof!)


OOoooooo!  Loook!  Bobcat in front of my window in the alley!   No, not a feline...   the kind that removes snow, people!  Oooo!  Snow plow in the alley!  I wonder who our benefactor is?  (Alleys don't normally get plowed).


The following videos are of an adorable little girl whom I have never met in my life reporting on the Chicago blizzard.    She is much more fun to watch than any of our local talking heads!

The snow begins...

The blizzard is gaining momentum


The cleanup effort...


The aftermath...


This post is being linked to Duane Scott's Pleasantly Disturbed Thursday blog carnival.