Why ice storms make you better

You know those stories you tell about a situation that went horribly wrong, but you can now laugh about it?  Well, I’m still in this annoying situation, so I’m not laughing just yet, but I’m sure eventually it will be funny.  For starters, I hate cold weather.  Anything below 60 is sweater, scarf, and mittens weather for me.  That is why what I’m about to say actually feels like a really bad joke from Mother Nature.

We have been planning on leaving on Monday, December 9th for awhile.  Josh’s last day of work in Texas is today, the 8th, and his first day in Washington is the 22nd, so we figured it would give us good bit of time to get up there without rushing (which is not fun with a caravan such as ours).  We mapped out exciting things we wanted to see along the way like the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone.  We are expecting the trek from Dallas to Seattle to take about a week since we have to drive below the speed limit with that big old beast of a vehicle.

So, planning on leaving on Monday.  On Friday, Texas- the place with unbelievably miserable heat- had an ice storm!  No biggie, except we’re in the South here, folks.  We’re not prepared for any ice or snow whatsoever, and when it does happen, the town shuts down!  But before I get to that part, let me back up.

Josh left for work early Friday morning.  There was ice, but not a whole lot had accumulated at that point.  I had woken up and had a lazy morning around the RV.  When I decided to go out to run errands it was about 11a.m.  I got my stuff together and walked to the door, BUT I COULDN’T GET OUT!!!  The door was frozen shut from all the ice!  After full-on body checking it several times, it opened.  I went to my car, and I kid you not, I couldn’t even get to the lock because there was about a solid half inch of ice covering my entire car!  Thank goodness I hadn’t closed the door to the RV completely, because on my way back in, I noticed that the handle also had a solid layer of ice that couldn’t be broken by a simple jiggle and pull.  In order to scrape that ungodly layer of ice from my windshield to go anywhere, I had to get in my trunk to get the ice scraper.  In order to get the ice scraper, I had to chisel away at the layer of ice on the seams of the trunk to get it open.  In order to get the trunk open, I had to chisel away at the ice on my door and the lock and handle to get in to pop the trunk.  Oh boy.  (I’m exhausted just from typing that!)

Ignorant me, taking pictures from inside of the little bit of snow on the hood of the truck before I went outside to assess the damage.

I headed back inside to grab anything that would help.  The best thing I could find was a butter knife.  So, butter knife it was! I started on the door handle first so that I was able to go back inside to take breaks from the cold when I needed too.  I worked on that darn thing for a solid 20 minutes!  I finally broke through enough of it that I was able to pull the handle and get in when it was completely shut.  Then I headed to my car.  I must have been out there for an hour total working on it!  A butter knife is good, but it’s not efficient!  I was finally able to break the ice along the seams of my door and trunk in order to get in to turn on the defroster and grab the ice scraper.  Once the car was on, it took another 15 minutes or so before the ice was able to get broken up and scraped off.  Oi, what a start to the day. 

I hope you can see it, but that nice layer right there was what encapsulated my poor little car! 

I ran my errands in record fashion and was excited to get back to sit in a warm RV and read for a bit.  On my way up the road, I saw a large limb hanging off the power line with part of the cables down.  And as soon as I walked inside I realized what had happened.  No power.  This is semi-ok, except when you’re in an RV, no power means a lot of things.  Because we get our water from a spicket outside, we have to have a special electric hose to keep it from freezing in cold weather.  Well, electric hoses need electricity to work, which we did not have.  Also, when we have a constant supply of  electricity, it helps keep the battery charged, which means we can start the RV, which means we would be able to leave on time…if the battery had been charged by the electricity that we did not have.  So, no heat, no water, no lights, no battery- oh, and our generator decided that it didn’t like cold weather either and refused to work when we needed it to.  *Sigh*  Do you see why this isn’t quite to the point of being funny yet?

End of day one was cold and showerless, but it was manageable, because surely the power company would get the electricity working again soon.  Ha!  Silly me.

Day 2:  Josh went into work early again.  I decided that I was not willing to sit in a cold RV all day, so I got dressed to go to the gym and take a shower there, then go sit in Panera to use them for their heat and caffeine while I charged all of our electronics.  Thankfully, it hadn’t precipitated again, so there was no additional ice to break through before I could go anywhere.  Wouldn’t you know?  When I got to the gym, it was closed!  Apparently ice doesn’t make people want to work out.  I was frustrated and greasy and just decided to head home to put on warmer clothes before I went to Panera.  The day before I was frozen in the RV, yesterday, I was frozen out of it.  When I got back, the handle was fine, but the key wouldn’t even go into the lock because some ice had gotten in there somehow.  Oh, in addition, I had spoken to my neighbors on my way back to the car after my defeat, and they said the power wasn’t expected to turn back on for more than 24 hours.  Fan-freakin-tastic. 

I sulked in Panera for a good 4 hours before I was willing to go outside again.  Thankfully, we have amazing friends in Texas who let me sit in their heated house for a bit and take a steamy shower.  (Castellanos, you have no idea.  I haven’t been that grateful to get a shower in a long time!)

After avoiding going back to the RV for the majority of the day, I faced my fears with a mug of hot water (also thanks to the Castellanos) and a lighter.  So, there I was in pure darkness, pouring hot water on the lock and holding my key over the lighter to heat it up (thanks Mom for the tip!).  It took about 5 minutes, but success was mine!  Thankfully, I had packed just about every warm blanket from our house to bring with us.  They were piled on our bed to help us endure another cold night.

Here I am on day 3.  Sitting in- guess where!- Panera!  It’s the day before we’re supposed to leave, but it’s not looking too good for us.  This is ok, because we have plenty of time to get up to Washington, but it’s just a bummer to maybe not be able to leave when we were originally planning.

I hate cold weather.  Did I mention that?  This is why I’m starting to second guess our decision to live in Washington.  Now, hopefully they will be more prepared for snow and ice (you know, since they do have legit winters there).  It just takes away my excitement a little bit to think “what if this happens again?”  Obviously, I’ll live.  I might go without a shower and heat for a few days, but I’ll live.

Ok, so the point of this post is not to complain and whine about my woes- clearly this is not the worst thing ever (and really, it will be a funny story eventually).  But, this is part of the adventure that I’m on with my husband, which I am trying to share with you, dear reader.  The good, the bad, and the ugly.  Adventures aren’t always fun and exciting.  Sometimes the process to get to where we’re going sucks.  Sometimes it hurts or it’s uncomfortable.  Sometimes you just want to crawl back under the covers and maybe cry a little bit.  That’s all part of the game, though.  Life is an adventure.  Cry a little bit, shiver, chisel away at that ice.  And when you’re done, pick yourself up and remember that it’s temporary!  This adventure called life brings with it trials and triumphs.  But each step makes you a little bit better- a little bit more complete (James 1:2-4).

So, while cold weather and ice and snow are not a few of my favorite things, I choose to welcome it, because somehow it makes me a little bit more complete.  And if nothing else, it makes me more thankful for sweet friends and hot showers!

P.S. The butter knife and lighter have found a permanent home in my purse…juuust in case.