Snow Way
Last weekend, we were in shorts and tank tops. This weekend, there’s snow in the forecast. (It’s March, right?)
I’m not complaining because snow is SNOW fun (that’s meant to sound like “so fun,” not “no fun.” I just realized it doesn’t really work, but I’m leavin’ it.); however, I am complaining a little bit because this is NOT normal. Something is very wrong with our planet—and not the kind of thing you can fix with paper straws—but I think we all already knew that. In our first six weeks in Nashville, we experienced a tornado outbreak (December 10-11) and a record-breaking snowstorm (January 6). LESS THAN A MONTH APART.
Anyway, this weekend’s snow has inspired me to revisit these two wild weather events. So let’s do it.
December’s Tornado Outbreak
Us Floridians know all about hurricanes, but tornadoes? Not so much. Hurricanes are OK (ish) because they’re slow moving and give you plenty of notice before they arrive, but tornadoes are a whole other story. Everything about them absolutely terrifies me. We went to bed on December 10th knowing there was a possibility of a tornado, but to be honest, I really didn’t think it was going to happen. Spoiler alert: There wasn’t one. There were five.
Around 1:30am, Kane woke me up because he needed to go outside. We went out, and I remember thinking, “Yep, it’s definitely windy, but nothing too crazy.” Fast forward to about an hour or so later, and our phone alarms started going off. “THERE IS A TORNADO IN YOUR AREA. SEEK SHELTER.” I was still awake from taking Kane out, but Sean was in a deep slumber and looked hella confused when I started shaking him and yelling, “We have to go huddle in the bathroom. WE’RE GONNA DIE.”
The three of us headed for the guest bathroom because it’s the only fully interior room and has zero windows. We settled in for the next few hours watching for updates on Twitter while the scary ass sirens went off outside. The updates weren’t great—basically there were five major tornadoes, and one was heading toward North Nashville (our neighborhood). I remember looking around the room for things we could use to protect ourselves. I thought, “One of us can put the trashcan on like a helmet and wrap the bathmat like a debris blanket, and then we can all just huddle together and brace for whatever comes.” (I also spent this time on Amazon ordering a tornado preparedness kit so we’d be ready for the next one.)
The tornadoes ended up shifting course, and Nashville was spared. But we learned a valuable lesson to take these things more seriously in the future.
January’s Snowstorm
This weather event was a lot more fun. I think we ended up with 7 or 8 inches of snow all in all. It kind of sucked because I had to reschedule a flight I was supposed to take that weekend, but I was able to make the trip the following weekend, so it all worked out fine. I was SO EXCITED to see Kane see snow for the first time, and I was sure he’d jump right in and play. You can imagine my disappointment when he was like, “Cold rain? Hell no.” and refused to leave the porch. And then you can imagine my absolute DELIGHT when he jumped right in once it had accumulated enough on the ground for him to be interested.
What a rollercoaster.
Kane absolutely loves the snow and has a couple new favorite games: Tackle the Snowman, Catch the Snowball, Fetch the Disappearing Ball, and—his absolute favorite—Snow Buffet. Here are way too many photos of him enjoying his first snow day.
Ok, turns out there actually aren’t that many photos. I forgot I mostly took videos, which won’t work on a blog post. But you get the point: He had fun! We felt like terrible parents for letting him play without booties, so we ordered some of those for the next storm.
This is the only time we got him to wear them for more than five seconds. If you’re in the market for a pair of dog booties and happen to live in Nashville, I hear there’s a VERY gently worn pair of them at the Goodwill in Berry Hill.
Anyway, time to start bracing for the next snowstorm this weekend. It also happens to be the weekend my mom is visiting. Welcome to Nashville, Mom!