First of all, since you're just DYING to know...yeah, we had a pretty large snowstorm here in St. Louis. For once, we were in the bullseye for the highest snowfall amounts. Usually we're above or below it. I got around 4.5 inches at my house. One of my pals up north in St. Charles said he got 7 inches at his. I actually took out my snow shovel and USED IT for the first time in several years this afternoon. Chili the dog didn't make a big deal of it again today. I bundled myself up in my ski pants and jacket to walk her this morning. Afterwards, we engaged in a game of keep-away with my gloves. She isn't naturally playful, but if you engage her and start something, she's happy to play along.
My parents' church is putting on its Christmas shows this weekend. My bro, sis-in-law, baby-to-be, and I were all supposed to travel down to Festus last night to see my dad sing in it. I didn't figure on going since the snowfall was predicted to re-develop during the late afternoon and evening after being in a lull all day. When I heard that the others were still planning on going, I bummed a ride with them. I figured it made sense since we were all going to the same place. Besides, my Mom promised a dinner of hot chili and hot dogs. I hadn't had lunch so I was really looking forward to that part of the evening.
(ASIDE: As I blogged earlier, I am on-call this week . On Saturdays there is a 2-hour gap between the day and evening shift which the on-call tech must cover. The pager went off 5 TIMES in that 2-hour time span yesterday. Once as I was getting dressed for the evening and four more times before we made it to Festus. I met my ride in the parking lot of a shopping center near my house and exploded out of my car with a laptop and carrying case as the snow fell lightly. It was like something out a Russian spy movie. I was actually putting out fires, so to speak, in the back seat of the car as we drove down I-55. Each time the pager goes off, I have to call in and listen to the associated voice mail. then call the person back to help them.)
My parents' church repeated the Living Christmas tree theme this year with different music. It was impressive, a little too showy and gaudy at times but overall not a waste of an evening. We came out of the church and found that the snow was falling quite heavily and had accumulated quite a bit since we went in. Did we go straight home from there? Of course not!
Back to my parents' house for an hour of just "us" time. The five of us sat around the kitchen table and just talked for a while about anything and everything. Preparations for new baby, a bizarre Thanksgiving weekend stop in Ellsinore, MO for firewood (don't ask!), various and sundry memories, etc... The house is all decorated for Christmas and that added to the "warmfuzzy" experience.
Alas, we have to get back to our homes and out into the snowy night we trekked. We encountered an armada of snowplows on I-55 heading north and had to proceed behind them at 20mph all the way up into St. Louis county. Needless to say, we were late in getting home.
Experiences like this remind me of my deep emotional connection to my family and the holidays. I am so blessed!
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