When the snow flies

 We leave for the West Coast in a week's time.  It has been a boring winter so far, cold but missing out on the snow storms for the most part. I am looking forward to visiting the family out in Portland and hoping to enjoy some milder weather. So hearing the weather forecast for the next few days is making me a little anxious. Snowmageddon is coming to the Wisconsin/Illinois line, beginning tomorrow!  The various weather sources predict between 4 and 9 inches, depending on who you listen to. Whenever bad weather is forecast there's an element of "the sky is falling" to the predictions; despite the panic, the end result will be somewhere in the middle.

As we learned from the Covid-19 pandemic, some things are outside our control. We can leave home in plenty of time for an appointment and run into traffic problems or an accident. Both Rick and I are planners; I always allow extra time when I go somewhere new, in case I get lost, so I am often embarrassingly early for appointments. Rick often gets us to the airport at least an hour earlier than necessary.  We control what we can, but we still have no control over when the flight takes off. With a connecting flight, the stakes are even higher. On one memorable occasion, we left Portland late by exactly the same amount of time we had to make our connection in Dallas. We ran 16 gates to catch the connecting flight and we made it only because the Milwaukee flight waited for us!! On another trip, as we were changing planes on the way to Oregon
, I got a text from my daughter in law that one of kids had a stomach bug. It went through the whole family by the time we went home. And then there was the trip that was cancelled because we both got Covid. Weather, sickness, delays-they are all outside our control!

This trip, for the first time, we have decided to forgo the rental car.  Our son lives in the city, within walking distance of stores and restaurants, and the Airbnb we have booked is within easy walking distance of his house. Street parking by the Airbnb is limited and last time we visited, we hardly moved the car to avoid losing our prime spot across the street. By giving up the security of our own transportation, we will save around $500. Our son, Dave, has volunteered to pick us up at the airport.   

I have a number of things to accomplish tomorrow and snow was not part of my plans.  As I look out the window in my office at the sunshine, it's easy to scoff at the warnings. Timing is everything-if the snow begins earlier than predicted, it will have a bigger impact on my plans. If it starts later, or moves a little bit south, it may have no impact at all.  Much as I like to think I am in control of my schedule, Mother Nature will have the last word.