Scared

Tuesday night this week, Jeff was supposed to fly back from a trip to Portland. He was supposed to land at 8pm. Case and I were supposed to pick him up. All went according to plan until about 5 or 6pm that night and it started to snow like crazy. I checked Jeff's flight status before leaving the house around 7pm and it said on-time. So, crazily, Case and I set out for a 45 minute drive to the airport. Looking back, I should have never left the house. I should have called Jeff and told him to get a room and we'd come get him in the morning when the storm passed. But, I'm from NE. I know how to drive in the snow. We have a good AWD car. I'd be fine.

Two hours later, Case and I finally arrive at the airport. I'd been trying Jeff's cell because we were over an hour late, but it was shut off. I thought of this as good news, he still hadn't landed yet so he hadn't been waiting hours for us to arrive. We'd had many near accidents of other cars sliding into us, cars getting stuck on hills in front of us, but by golly we had made it. I pulled into the parking garage and pulled out my phone again to call Jeff. However, before I could dial, it rang and it was Jeff. What good timing!

Jeff: "Where are you?"
Shan: "We just parked? Should we come in or will you meet us at the car?"
Jeff: "Well, I just landed safely...back in Portland."
Shan: "What?? I just risked our lives getting out here to pick you up and you're not even here?"
Jeff: "Sorry. I tried to call when the plane turned around but it wouldn't go through. I couldn't reach you until we landed. I guess you should just go home. Not sure what my return flight will be but it won't be tonight."
Shan: "Maybe we'll get a room out here. I don't want to drive all the way home and traffic is backed up all over the place. It's just getting worse. It'll take us forever to get home."
Jeff: "That's a good idea. Call me when you get checked in."

Case then wakes up - it was 9pm afterall and he'd slept most of the way to the airport. "Are we at the airport? Is daddy here?" "No baby, his plane didn't land. We have to go home without him." Case falls back asleep.

So, I leave the airport and set out to find a hotel. Hopefully all of the rooms haven't been filled at this point. As I'm driving, I think, what if we get snowed in out here? I have no clothes, no food, nothing. We're supposed to get up to 2 feet of snow. Maybe I should try to get home. I'll take the tollroad. There will be less people and traffic won't be backed up. I call Jeff. He's not excited about this option but supports me if I feel I'm up to driving.

I get on to the tollroad. There's not another car in sight. I turn on the GPS. Only about 17 miles till it connects with familiar territory. Baby steps. I start driving. Meet a few cars. Slow going. I keep watching the GPS miles tick off. I'm gripping the wheel with both hands. My back is tense. All I can think about is getting myself and my two babies home safely. I keep praying. What if I end up in the road ditch (yes, in NE we say road ditch)? There's no one out here to rescue us and the cars that I have seen in the ditch, no one is stopping to help. Keep watching the GPS.

About 1.5 hours later, we finally reach C-470 (familiar territory and back in the city). I'm feeling better. Only about 10 miles to home and there's light and more traffic. I merge onto the interstate and find that the ramp hasn't been plowed and my tires get caught in the piles of snow. It grabs the Outback and spins us around and we're headed for the ditch. There are cars coming behind me. I started yelling, "No, no, no." Thankfully, we stay out of the ditch and cars are able to go right around us without sliding into us. Case is still sleeping. I gather my nerves, turn the car around and keep driving home. A little over 2 hours after leaving the airport, we pull into the driveway. I'm a nervous wreck and sit in the car thanking Jesus for protecting us.

Never again will I set out in a storm such as that. Jeff will just have to take care of himself next time. We did end up getting about 18 inches of snow that night and Jeff was able to get on a flight Wednesday night. I told him he'd have to take a cab home because I wasn't going to leave the house. But, like CO weather, it was already 40-50 degrees the next morning and melting so the roads were fine. Case and I once again headed to the airport. This time safe and sound.