Ice, Ice Baby

It is nasty here this morning in South Carolina as I understand it is across most of the U.S. I'm thinking about my friends who have skedaddled down to New Orleans for some relief work and are staying in tents. TENTS! I hope they are okay and not freezing their hineys off.

Nice Guy works 3rd shift and went into work early last night, anticipating he'd be home by 2:00 a.m. or so. I woke at 5:00 with a start. He was not in bed with me, nor was he watching TV or reading the paper, or in fact, anywhere in the whole house. (Finally, duh!, I check the garage to see if the car is there. Nope.) I let my puppers out to go potty and it is icy on the deck. I panic and try to call his cell phone. No answer.

I keep thinking he surely would not have stayed at work. After one too many bad weather accidents we are very skittish when it ices like this. Finally, I turn on the news and hear the weather lady explain, yes, there is ice on certain surfaces like this car window here, but the roads are clear. She demonstrates by smacking the car window with a gloved hand and the road she's on with her boot. Back to you, Bob.

He must still be at work.....I'm assuming. I guess I should I mention right now that when he enters the security gate at work, it takes an act of Congress for me to get in touch with him. When my sister called me at 2:00 in the morning on September 28th and said, hurry, dad has taken a turn for the worse and we're not sure he's gonna make it. I had to beg a security guard to go find him because he didn't answer his cell. He actually took my NAME and NUMBER FOR HIS RECORDS while I'm crying on the phone begging him to please go to B Bay and get my husband.....My DAD is DYING! Looking back now I'm sure I was talking to a robot who only sounded human.

So now, this morning, I'm pacing, trying to pray, but why is that almost impossible when you're a nervous wreck? I continue to watch the news where they continue to assure me the roads are safe. I see livecams of roads near his place of employment and watch cars whizzing by. I start to relax a little. Finally, he calls at 7:00 to tell me he's on his way home. I have to yell at him a bit for not letting me know anything because that's what wives do. He promises to take it slow coming home and when I hear the garage door open I rush outside and see him at the bottom of the drive, barely able to get through the two crepe myrtles on either side because they are bent double under the ice. Once he's safe in the garage, I marvel at how beautiful it is outside and take a deep breath. He's home! Whew.

Now I'm sitting here thankful we have underground power lines. I'm sure if we still lived downtown we'd have no power right now. I hear limbs crashing outside and keep my fingers crossed that the 1/2" of ice will take down the pear trees I hate. The ones that are casting shade on the best spot in the yard to have a nice garden in the spring.

The kids are still sleeping....my fingers are cold. I think French toast and hot chocolate would be a good breakfast. And, definitely, it should be Pajama Day.