Ice, Night Shifts, and More Ice

I haven't had the time to post about my most exciting experience coming home from work Sunday morning.....While at work on Saturday night, I was well aware of the weather situation. We had seen one motor vehicle accident after another come into the hospital, and continued to get updates on the number of incidents that were happening due to the weather....which was mostly ice...My co-worker even decided to walk out into the parking lot to check it out, and was stranded only a few feet away....I have to say that situation was quite funny. Every time she tried to move, her feet slid...she finally got back into the office...scooting her way along...Needless to say, that made me even more worried about getting back home...I considered staying at work for a few hours, until the roads had time to clear, but I also was finishing my second night shift in a row, with one more to go, and really wanted to get home....

So, after talking with James, and my dad, I had a plan on how to attempt my drive home...I got into my warm van, because I had let it warm up before I got in, and slowly put it in reverse....This was the beginning of one of the most stressful times I have ever had behind the wheel of a car....I made it through the parking lot okay, but when I pulled out onto the main road, cars were going 5mph, and every where I looked, cars were off the road-in ditches, upside down, completely turned around....Ugh...What was I doing? The girl who hates to drive in the rain, was going to attempt this dangerous treck home....Knowing that there was no possible way that if I got to the road to go to my house, would I be able to make it up the hill...I knew that there would be some walking go on...and of all nights, I chose to wear my Crocs...=) Not good planning for sure!

So, I attempted to get on the road that leads me home...No...A policeman was sitting there blocking it...So, I had to try another route....Turned the van around very carefully, and backtracked and attempted another way...Seemed to be going well...Driving very slowly...I had made quite a bit of progress, when I came upon a part of the road, known in our area, as Dead-Man's Curve....Ummmm, yes, I was a little nervous about this part of my journey...No worries...Another police car...yes...He too was blocking the road, and wasn't allowing anyone to pass through...All I wanted was to get home...and now, I am not sure how to even do that...unlesss, I park the ole' van somewhere, and take off hoofing it, in my crocs....hee hee....I called my "Navigator" a.k.a. James, and he told me to try one more way....

So, for the second time, turned the van around (not like this was the easiest thing in the world to do either!!) and started towards my third destination....This road was passable....Horrible!!, but passable.....Covered in ice...and cars going about 4-5 mph....all the while, noticing all of the cars that were in the ditch, ect around me...I prayed the entire time but, I pressed on, and after what seemed like an eternity, made it to the part of my drive home, that I had dreaded the most.....There are two ways to get to my house...one is a road that has a VERY steep hill...with no guard rails, and no where to "go" if sliding happened...so I was attempting to take the second way in...which meant I had to travel through a curvy, but flat road-that the people around here call "The Ridge"....

As I got closer to this part of the drive, it had gotten dark, due to the lack of street lights around me, and the farther this way I went...the worse the roads looked....I was driving very slowly, and then I noticed the car in front of me seemed to pulling off of the road to the left(across the oncoming lane of traffic-not that there was any)...Hmm...Wonder why they are doing that...Is there a wreck up ahead? Well, it didn't take me long to figure that out...because I started sliding across the road also...this was the worst feeling EVER..No control...I was only going about 3 mph, so I just simply slid all the way across the road, and into the grass-with about 10-11 other cars....Looks like I wasn't the only one in this predicament....A policeman was at the scene, and he walked up to my van, and told me to just pull it up in the grass a little more, and simply sit and wait until the salt trucks came by, and the roads were a little clearer, before attempting to go any further....Great! I am stuck on the side of the road, until who knows when...I was sleepy, tired, and had the beginning of a horrible headache....I called James, and let him know I was ok, but had slid off the road, along with a crowd of people...and would let him know when I tried to pull out....

Turned the car off, and simply sat there, listening to my praise music in the car....watching one car after another attempt to get through, and end up in the same situation that we were all in....5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes passed, when I heard something...I looked in my rear view mirror and it was the salt truck...Thank the LORD!!! Once the salt truck passed, a few cars started to pull out of our little parking area on the side of the road...Watching them slide, and spin as the pulled out, I decided to wait a few more minutes before attempting it....

The car in front of me, was sort of in my way, so I walked up to her window, and talked to her a minute, and she ended up getting out, and making sure that I got out safely, by watching me get backed out onto the road...God amazes me by putting such nice people on the side of the road just for me!!!

Anyway, I made it the rest of the way...still going very slowly, still seeing cars off the road everywhere I looked....I got to the hill that goes up to my street...I thought to myself, if I could simply pull into the bottom of it, and park the van, I would walk from that point....So, I slowly turned in, and once again...the van slid completely sideways...crossways the road...Lovely...This close to home, and can't get the car parked....UGH! I had it in park, with the emergency break on and I was still sliding....I finally got the rear wheel into some grass, got a little traction, and was able to get it out of the road...Never was I so glad to put my feet onto the ground...

I called James and told him what I was doing, and where I was, and he came to meet me, to help me get my stuff in....Our entire road was a solid sheet of ice...He "skated" all the way to me...Crazy! When he opened the door of my house, I was so glad to be home....We shut the door, and locked out the cold-I hugged James, and told him thanks for praying for me, and talking me through it all...He is so good that way....

Never has it felt so good to crawl into bed, in my flannel sheets!!! A 7 minute drive home from work, turned into a two hour drive.....God's hand was on my car all the way home...So many people weren't as blessed as I was...I am so thankful, that I made it home safely, without a scratch on my car, or me...Thank you Lord....Sorry for the long post...but I had to put in all the details....=) I would have posted a pic...but obviously photographing the moments were not at the top of my agenda..Have a Blessed Week....