About once a year, life in North Texas slows down because of ice and snow.
We’re two years removed from the traumatic ice storm that overwhelmed the Texas power grid, caused billions of dollars in damage and claimed 246 lives. Every storm since then has been mercifully mild in comparison.
As we endured the most recent winter storm, I was struck by how differently we welcome — or reject — freezing temperatures and a wintry mix.
There are folks who pay attention to multiple meteorologists, who have more than one weather app on their smartphone, who know which weather models predict how much precipitation. They hit the grocery stores before most of us notice the forecast, and they stock up on firewood, food and toilet paper as if we’ll be snowed in for three weeks.
Then there are those who can tolerate no more than about 18 hours at home. They rant about how in (fill in the blank with their native Northern state) they would go to school no matter the weather, how ridiculous it is to be afraid of a little ice, how Texans are too soft. They want to know which stores are open, which restaurants are still serving, and when, for the love of all things holy, schools will reopen.
Some among us didn’t even know that temperatures were going to drop on Jan. 30. They hadn’t been to the grocery store in 10 days and survived off pantry and freezer foods. The office and schools are closed? No problem. All those deadlines can wait.
For some, a few days of snow translate into scheduled family time. Let’s go sledding! Let’s play board games! Let’s bake cookies and drink cocoa and create Valentine’s Day crafts! And if your kids are too old for this revelry, it’s the perfect time to declutter closets, organize the pantry, sort paperwork for taxes and clean out the email inbox.
I’ve learned to embrace bad weather days as a giant deep breath.
It’s the perfect time to sleep a little late and then lollygag with an audio book or podcast over a cup of tea. There’s no rush to making breakfast, and if pumpkin chocolate chip bread sounds like the best idea you’ve ever had, you pull it together without worrying about what time it will come out of the oven.
I have been home on medical leave for almost a month, waiting for my left ankle to recover after tendon reconstruction surgery. On all of those days, my students were still in school, so I was writing substitute teacher plans, grading online papers, returning emails — all with my leg elevated and my heart torn between wanting to teach and wanting to heal. But during the ice days, when everyone was home, I was free to pause deadlines and expectations.
There have been ice days in the past when I was worried about wasting time, so I’d schedule a day full of inside activities complete with a checklist. That kind of organization is sometimes necessary, especially when you have younger children who need stimulation beyond a TV screen. But it’s just me and my 17-year-old at home right now, and we’re comfortable and happier with a more laid-back approach.
In our most recent days at home, I read a novel, binge-watched a show, embroidered a sweatshirt and made flour tortillas from scratch for the first time ever. I wore pajamas exclusively for three days straight. I napped when I wanted to and didn’t wear a drop of makeup.
I didn’t worry that my students were experiencing learning loss; we’ll all catch up together. I was hoping that they were playing outside, spending time with their families, creating something for fun — making memories that will sustain them when the days are full, when it’s been 100 degrees for weeks at a time, when there are circumstances they can’t control.
We can’t control when ice and sleet falls from the sky, but we can take advantage of the opportunity to pause, rest and build up stamina for the busy-ness that was impatiently waiting for the last patch of ice to melt.
Tyra Damm is a Briefing columnist. She can be reached at tyradamm@gmail.com.