Yesterday, I woke up and was slow to get out of bed so Luke's dad made sure I moved it along. I was trying to decide whether or not I should go to school because I had watched the news the night before and they mentioned a nor'easter. That sounded pretty bad but I looked outside and all was clear and Luke's dad didn't seem bothered at all by it, so we went...and boy should I have listened to my inner mom voice.
The rain/snow/hail started during my second class. Shortly after the class had started I heard sirens and saw firetrucks come down the road my class was on. Goodness! As soon as class was over I braved the weather to the car and I checked the road I take to get to the parkway...great. It was blocked by the very same firetrucks
and Police cars. So I decided to stay for my last class since I was going no where fast.
Well, Things didn't get much better. The slushy snow/rain turned to real snow that accumulated on my car and as the temperature dropped the roads started to get icy and things got a little crazy.
Lets take it back for a minute though, I went to pick Luke up at daycare. I bundled him up so well his caretakers giggled as I carried him out to the car because he looked so stiff!
I went back to the road that was blocked...turns out the traffic lights that had just been restored from Hurricane Sandy were knocked out again. I slipped by some firetrucks to get onto the parkway going the opposite way I needed to go cause it was my only option. That didn't go so well either...my exit was backed up for an hour. Once I finally got on the parkway, I went 2 mph for the next 2 1/2 hours! It took me 3 1/2 hours to get home when it usually takes me 30 minutes. Granted, I knew the weather was bad and that It would take a bit longer to get home, but I couldn't imagine it being that bad. I even fed Luke a bottle before I left daycare "just in case." I didn't want an unhappy little man while driving. He thankfully slept for the first hour and a half but woke up wanting dinner and out of his car seat. So he cried/screamed the remaining two hours. It was torture! Add to that there were cars spinning out left and right. We almost got hit so many times.
So many people with stalled vehicles...God knows how many had little gas to even keep themselves warm in their car (it's been tough here with a gas shortage after hurricane Sandy.) I prayed for each and every one of them wanting to give them a ride in my car to safety. Then came a frightening moment when it appeared lightning had struck a light pole and it was lights out on the parkway for about five minutes with only the lights of other cars to guide you. Luckily we were pretty much at a stand still anyway. The lines on the road that separate the lanes were totally gone so I just continued to follow the car in front of me very slowly. When I finally reached my exit and said thank you God!!! I made a slow right turn, there was a red light and a green van in front of me. I slowly applied my brakes and nothing. I said to myself, I made it safe all this way just to get into an accident...no way, not today! I turned my wheel left and the car stopped. Whew!
I hugged my baby so much last night, so grateful that we made it home safe. I will
NEVER ever disregard my mother's intuition again and endanger my child's life. Nothing can be that important and
shame on my school for not having an early dismissal. You put people's lives in danger.
