Closed for Cold?

When I hear that it is getting cold, I rejoice. I love the invigorating cold, watching my breath in the air drift away. I love bundling on clothes and wrapping scarves around my neck and putting mittens on my hands. I don’t mind warming up my car or wearing sweatshirts around the house which comes with lowered temperatures. 

Since I have moved to the South, the temperatures have been disappointing. They tease me as they tiptoe under the below freezing mark for one day, and then rebound to 30 degrees warmer two days later. Therefore, when I heard about this so-called polar vortex that is currently sweeping through our nation, I became rather excited. 

Remembering when I lived in Upstate New York just outside of Rochester, I had systems for cold weather and snow. I kept a snow shovel and ice scraper in my car, as well as an old comforter in the event it broke down and needed warmth. I knew where to park, which was not alongside the road to only to be plowed in by snow. I kept a space heater in my room for extra cold days and special socks for my feet. There was no “freaking out.”

Since living in Virginia, I have observed many odd reactions to winter weather. The first crazy thing is the need to get dairy-related groceries in the event that it snowed. Stores are stripped bare of necessities such as eggs, milk, and bread. Even if there are flurries and no accumulation, there will still be no milk on the shelves.

The second a snowflake falls from the sky, driving IQ dives to sudden death in the South as well. Some people think that they are invisible and can drive normally. If southerners don’t fall into this category, they fall into the opposite. They will drive forty miles an hour underneath the speed limit. There is limited knowledge of start slow, break slow. There is limited knowledge of using headlights in the snow. Driving skills just become… limited. Bless their hearts.

Last, but not least, is school closing. When I went to college outside of Rochester, we never had a single school closing. Granted I was not a young child, but I recall one day it was -40 degrees, -60 with the wind chill. I walked to class as my nostrils stuck together. Today the school district I work in closed because the temperature was going to be cold.  They called it off the day before, the reason being the chance for black ice. Seriously? My inner New Yorker is embarrassed. 

-Billie