Snow day

Today took an unexpected turn.

It is a new year, and so our building schedule would be changing from the late schedule (1-4 PM) to the early schedule (9 AM to noon). I don't do well on the early schedule, but you roll with it.

Today was also going to be kind of big because my calling has changed. I was going to train the new librarian during Sunday school and then spend the third hour adjusting to junior nursery, my new calling. Then it snowed.

There is a lot that goes into that. The initial forecasts were that it wouldn't start until around noon, so I was worrying more about Monday. It came on pretty suddenly. Maria took the first shower, and when she went in it was not snowing, but when she came out it was accumulating. That is kind of Oregon.

I was pretty sure church would be canceled. My sisters and I had this discussion recently on a different Sunday when it didn't snow but the possibility had been mentioned. I said that if serious snow seemed likely they would cancel, because they don't want to risk people getting stranded at church with families camping out on pews and sharing the leftover sacrament bread for rations. They have always erred on the side of caution.

Some people like to mock the way people around here get so discombobulated by snow, but it makes sense. We don't get it that often, and at the current rates it would be silly for a lot of people or local governments to make huge investments in snow equipment when it will not be used that often. The news was saying this was the first snow event in two years. (I can live with mocking people who don't learn to drive in the rain here, because that does happen pretty frequently.)

In areas with frequent snowfall you have to adapt, but those areas are often pretty flat, which not only makes driving easier, but probably contributes to the weather patterns where snow conditions happen so often. Granted, with climate change we may have to adapt to more snow - even with hills - but for now, it's logical to stay home until it passes, and for businesses and groups to support that.

They did not cancel church, while admitting that they might dismiss early, proving my earlier belief wrong. There was discussion on Facebook, which was interesting to me.

For one thing, based on our ward layout, a lot of the people who were concerned about making it actually live in the flatter area. It is also the poorer area, so some of that may be vehicle quality. Some people from the really hilly area expressed concerns too, and having seen where some of them live, I get that. One mistake a lot of people make is thinking that 4WD or AWD solves everything, and I appreciate the people who understand that it doesn't. Of course, living on top of a steep hill where the neighborhood access involves twists and turns probably gives you a lot of chances to learn, whether by experience or observation.

Obviously people still needed to make the decision for themselves. Just to end any suspense, we stayed home, but I found I was not happy with this. I was frustrated that the responsibilities that I was not going to be able to fill could still be needed, depending on who else went in, but it didn't feel right in general.

One thought I had is that leaving it that way can end up really imbalanced. If a lot of people with young children do make it to church, but a lot of the primary teachers don't, that can certainly lead to some chaos. The way our church runs is very communal. Illness and travel can have a few people absent on any given week, and we adapt, but taking a larger group out has a big effect.

The other thing that felt wrong relates to the sense of community. If some people cannot go safely, while others can, and we just say to them, well, use your judgment, it feels wrong. Maybe it feels like more of an issue because there is a pretty sharp financial divide in our ward.

Thinking about that could become impractical, like if maybe only five families lived out of reach, maybe then you shouldn't cancel, but then is there someone who can offer them rides? Are we united?

It is also worth remembering that some people don't have very good judgment. They could feel that if church was not canceled they should go when given their circumstances they should not. I hope there are no accidents. Remember, it's not just you; it's anyone else out there who doesn't know how to drive in snow.

So this felt wrong to me. I don't intend to sound terribly rebellious. It's all humans involved, and we do our best but we see things differently. I'll be there next week and do my callings. I just think they should have canceled today.