Snow days

I was supposed to have a three day weekend. I worked on MLK day and was set to take my holiday tomorrow instead. I had an appointment to test wedding cakes and was going to spend the rest of the day helping my mom find a dress to wear to our wedding.

I had big plans for my long weekend.

This winter storm had other plans. My three day weekend turned into a one day weekend. I’ll be working tomorrow and much of Saturday as we cover the storm that’s moving into our area. At this moment they’re expecting a half inch of ice and an inch or two of snow on top of that.

A little over 10 years ago we had an ice storm that knocked power out to much of the area for several days. I was a senior in high school and the only child still at home. Both of my grandparents had died that same year, so it was just me and my parents… stuck in our home… in the middle of nowhere… without power. At first it was cool. There was a colonial charm. Not surprisingly, that wore off quickly.

This storm has the potential to rival that one, only this time I’m working in news. It’s a whole new ballgame. Snow and ice mean more work, not less.

So my three day weekend turned into a couple of days of nonstop storm coverage and one day off. But here’s the thing, I’m not upset. I’m not even disappointed. There will be time to take off next week. There will be a rescheduled cake tasting appointment on Sunday. Mom and I will enjoy a day of shopping next Friday.

For now I get to do what I love. I get to tell the community what is happening at any given moment. I get to read and write and tweet and post and search for creative new angles to cover a story we’ve all seen before. I get to do it all at a competitive pace. I get to feel the rush of breaking bits and pieces of storm information before anyone else. It sounds silly, but the competition is one of the things I love most about what I do.

Today marks six months since I started working at The Greenville News. I don’t mean this to sound as sappy as it will inevitably sound, but I couldn’t be happier with my decision to be here. I almost got out of journalism. I almost switched to something that would’ve put me at home with a big cup of hot cocoa waiting out the storm. I almost stopped competing. Today I couldn’t be happier to still be doing these things that have grown so important to me.

Tonight as I sit here on the couch with my dogs cuddled up beside me, a glass of wine in my hand and an old Julia Roberts movie on the tv, I know that these are likely to be the most calm moments of my entire weekend. I know snow and ice will cause a lot of commotion and some potential danger. I know as much as I love snow, I probably won’t get of a much chance to play in it. I hope everyone who wants to enjoy it, gets to. I hope no one gets hurt and the problems remain small. I hope your power stays on all weekend.

And I hope I can at least make a snow angel on my lunch break.