The Wonderland That Is My World

I woke up today to rain...freezing rain...and snow...and wind...and ice. An Arctic tundra outside my front door.

Do I dare drive to work? Do I risk my life, driving a little sedan, in this kind of winter weather? Which route will I take that's the least dangerous? From 6:00 a.m., when I woke up and got out of bed, these questions kept running through my head. I assumed that my commute, which normally is about a 40-minute drive, would take at least 1 1/2 - 2 hours, and once I'd get to work, I'd be told, "Due to the inclement weather, you can all go home." I didn't want to face that, I didn't want to be so stressed on the road and then be told I could turn around and go right home.

So I wasn't stressed on the road, but I was stressed at home. What will they think if I don't show up? People travel from greater distances to get to work, and they'll do so. Will it be considered a vacation day -- but I have no more vacation days for 2004 -- or a day without pay?

My husband kept insisting that I stay home -- "It's too dangerous. Just stay home. Do you really want to be out driving in this? You don't have to go to work today, but I do." But indecisive me agonized for more than an hour, and kept calling my work's switchboard to see if there was an automated message saying that the office would be closed. Silly, silly people. How dare they not close the office! How dare they put me in this predicament!

But eventually my husband's wise counsel and my children's excitement at their "Eema" staying home with them made the difference. I made the most of my day doing the things I don't normally get to do, being that I'm a working-outside-the-home person: I worked inside the home! Laundry, cleaning, sorting and filing odds and ends and entertaining children kept me busy.

It's now nearing 4 p.m., the winter storm is over, the sun is shining. The winter wonderland outside the window is crystalline and icy-cool but inviting nonethess. But me...? I prefer to remain snug inside my home, amidst my family, in the wonderland that is my world...