Tuesday, February 20, 2018

A taste of spring in the middle of winter

So nice to walk across campus and see students, faculty, and staff members sauntering around eating ice-cream cones, listening to music, chatting, sitting on benches and studying in a most sociable fashion--in shorts and T-shirts!

I'm trying to remember the last time we saw any sunshine and I'm coming up blank. Last week was cold, wet, and gray all day every day. Three days ago I drove to campus for a basketball game and had to walk through ice-melt and slush to get to my car, and then I drove home with thoroughly wet feet on a highway surrounded by water where water does not normally appear. Trust me: you don't want to know what it's like to drive uphill on snow-covered mud.

Yesterday parking lots on the low end of campus were still flooded and my lot on the upper end filled up before 8 a.m., so I parked all day in a two-hour spot. Thankfully, the parking police announced that they wouldn't be ticketing anyone for on-street parking since some downtown streets were still flooded and there simply wasn't enough parking available anywhere.
 
After all that cold dark mess, today we suddenly have sunshine, blue sky, and a delightful soft breeze. The flood waters have receded and clean-up efforts are going well, but now we look at the forecast and see another huge mass of wetness heading our way. Maybe the storm will pass us by and the rivers will have a chance to fall to a less threatening level, or maybe we're on the cusp of another disaster.

I refuse to think about it. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it--as long as it's not under water.  

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