Snow Week

Everyone knows by now that the weather in Buffalo this week has been otherworldly. I've seen the terms "amazing," "insane," and "Hoth" tossed about by everyone in the middle of the storm. Among the many events lost over the course of the week was a performance of Rite of Spring by the BPO that I was supposed to be playing. I am a little bummed, of course. I love Rite of Spring, and the paycheck would have been great. But I'm also really relieved that I didn't have to attempt driving in that mess, or (more likely) backing out of the gig.

My Dad was the first to warn me about the storm. They stopped by on Sunday and he mentioned that a bad storm was coming. I need to start paying more attention to these things, now that I'm a homeowner. It's going to be up to me to batten down the hatches on our property. Right now, I don't even know where the hatches are. It's also up to me to shovel our driveway, keep an eye on the water level around the foundation, and all those other lovely tasks.

So, I kept an eye on the weather. And Tuesday morning, the day of the first rehearsal, I woke up assuming I might have to allow for a little extra drive time in the snow. The first thing I saw when I opened Facebook was a bunch of people posting that the Thruway was closed.

"The Thruway is closed? Isn't that a bit of an overreaction?"

Turns out, no. I dug through old emails for the emergency personnel line to the orchestra, and called in. There was no message. I texted one of the other trumpet players asking whether rehearsal was still on. No answer. I looked up alternate routes up by the lake, and put on my winter coat. I was just getting ready to leave when I finally got ahold of the personnel manager.

"Yeah, I can't see out my window," she said "There isn't going to be any rehearsal today."

It turned out to be a good day to stay home. J had a doctor's appointment for James and Owen, and neither boy was particularly happy about being measured, prodded, weighed, or (oh, the trauma) given a shot.

The next day I started calling into the personnel line at 6 in the morning. There had been reports that there might be a break in the snow early in the afternoon, but that another huge storm was coming on Thursday and that the Thruway was still closed for the forseeable future. About 7:00 I saw that the alternate rehearsal site (at a college) had been shut down because the campus was closed, and I figured I was in the clear. Around 8:00 the official word came through that rehearsal was off, and at 10 AM they cancelled the whole week's worth of services.

So I've had an unexpected week off! I took the kids to Home Depot, cleaned the downstairs, played with James outside (he got a snow shovel at Home Depot--"Daddy, I need to shovel. Is it time to shovel yet?") helped J with lunch, took a nap, listened to a mock audition, worked through a box of wine, and wore a bunch of sweaters.

If you're one of those poor people digging out of this mess, stay warm! But I've enjoyed a chance to actually live in my own house for a bit...