Last weekend, the weather teams in Dallas started warning of a “winter weather event” for this week.  I have to admit that usually the more hype that is made over a bad weather threat, the less likely we are to see any of it.  But, that said, we did our part to prepare.  Weber did his normal Monday morning grocery run and I met my Monday classes ready for the possibility that I might not see them on Wednesday.  By noon on Monday, liquid something was falling from the sky – rain, freezing rain, sleet, all of the above.  (That isn’t really possibly, but you get the point.  It was a mess.). Late afternoon classes were cancelled as well as all Tuesday classes.  This must be serious.  Our campus usually waits until the very last minute for closure notices.  Shortly after I received this notice, my daughter, who is a librarian at our public library, called to say that they were closing early as well.  By 2:30 Monday afternoon, we were all safely at home, where we have been for the last three and a half days.

The local evening news on Monday night warned everyone to stay off of the roads for at least the next twenty-four hours because the icy conditions were treacherous and some roadways were impassable.  They were telling the truth.  When we got up Tuesday morning, the circle in front of our house looked like an ice rink, a sold sheet of smooth glistening ice.  Our back patio was no better.  The dogs were wanting spiked boots to make their way out to the backyard.  Throughout the day, the warnings about how dangerous conditions were and the advisories to stay home continued.

Wednesday was the same story.  

The irony of this scenario is that the new crews who were repeatedly telling everyone to stay off the roads were the ones on the roads out and about the city.  About thirty-six hours into the storm, the news teams’ stories turned from incessant warnings to interviews with people who had chosen to ignore those warnings.  Some were out because they had to work.  Some were out because they needed groceries and other essentials.  Somewhat understandable.  The one interview that got me was a twenty-something woman and her friend that said they had to get out and find someplace to go because after being at home for twenty-four hours they were “suffering from PTSD because of the COVID lockdown.”  Really?  After twenty-four hours?  How much do you have to hate being with yourself that you can’t handle a day home alone?  

This made me think about a list of things that people could do to stay entertained while at home during this ice storm:

1. Match all the single socks in your house.  This may involve looking under all the furniture, behind the dryer, and in the dog’s bed to find all those introverted socks that are quite happy going solo.
2. Master folding fitted sheets.  There are YouTube videos for everything!
3. Do a population count of all of the dust bunnies residing at your address.  Don’t forget those living under the fridge!
4. See how much money you can find searching the couch and chair cushions, coat pockets, closet floors, and the dryer lint trap.
5. Sharpen all of the pencils in your house and check every ink pen to see if it writes.  Throw away those who are no longer willing to serve.
6. Figure out how many TV channels you get and the percentage of those you are actually willing to watch.
7. Ponder the difference between Crayola’s red-orange and orange-red crayons.  Create a work of art highlighting this difference.
8. Binge watch The Flying Nun.
9. Bake and taste test fifteen different chocolate chip cookie recipes.
10. Make a grocery order with Amazon Fresh and see how many individual items you can get for $35, the minimum order for free delivery.  Do this one quickly, though.  Delivery fees are increasing on February 28th.

See!  There are so many things that you can do while staying safe and warm at home during winter storms.  If none of these things strike your fancy, find a good book or four, some yarn to knit, a pencil with which to draw or write (assuming you’ve sharpened at least one), or a friend to text or call on the phone.  

Being in one healthy piece after the thaw is worth staying home for a few days!

P.S. If you taste test the chocolate chip cookies, please share your recommendations below!