Snowpocalpyse, Part 5

So, today started with someone SKIING DOWN THE STREET IN FRONT OF OUR HOUSE! (Actually, it started with me waking up, alone, for the third night in a row, poor Drew) after a lousy night of sleep (going to bed at 2 a.m. after thoroughly cleaning and organizing my side of the study and then waking up at 8 a.m. not being able to go back to sleep and thinking, "Oh, my aching back!!"). I got up, hoping to surprise Drew by doing the shoveling, but he woke up, too. I insisted on doing the first round and he capitulated. So, I started shoveling (and, heck, I certainly need the exercise), which was actually delightful because it was gorgeous and sunny and because we had done it once before, there wasn't as much to shovel this time. (Drew gave me big props for insisting we do one round as the blizzard was starting).

Anyway, I was about halfway finished with the walkway when I noticed two kids, one with a camera and one on a pair of skis -- real skis, not cross country -- getting ready to ski down our hill! I watched first to see if he could do it, and after he did -- picking up a good bit of speed -- I urged him to do it again, ran inside and got my cellphone, and recorded it. In the meantime I chatted with his brother, the cameraman, who was actually pretty nice and talkative. Then the kid's mom, dog and dad showed up and I suddenly realized, "I need to interview these people for The Post's live feed of snow-related news around the DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia)!" So, I ran to the door and asked Rachel to bring me a notebook and a pencil, which she did (living in Minnesota taught me that the only way to interview people in the cold is in pencil; the ink dries in pens and markers when it's real cold), and I got enough for a couple of short paragraphs (and a photo). Not sure if it'll make the print edition or even if it made The Post's live blog, but I'm so glad I did. When I raced back inside to file the story (it was around 11 a.m.), Drew insisted on taking over the shoveling.

When he was done, we had breakfast. I had a nice conversation with my friend Amy, from Oregon, left a message with Daniella to see how she was faring, and had just started going through my pile of mail when Jesse, The Post's head of the multiplatform desk, called -- we all had to start work earlier than usual (2:30 p.m. instead of 3:30 p.m.) because of early deadlines. So, I logged on early while Drew was dealing with a stubborn Rachel, who did a sloppy job on some work for her school book project and was upset at him for making her do it over (which I thanked him for; she needs to learn that she needs to make an effort even though she's smart). She soon cheered up and was very good about not bothering me while I worked, except to come in every once in a while to give me hugs and kisses and remind me that she loves me (which is the best kind of interruption).

Drew took care of dinner -- roast beef and Yorkshire pudding -- and I took a 10-minute break to gulp it down, then went back to finish up work for the night. As I started work, we learned that Rachel will be off school Monday AND Tuesday (that makes it almost a week off from school and this is only the first snowstorm of the winter) and Metro is only running trains underground (i.e., from the Ballston Metro station to downtown, too far for us to walk), so I will be working from home again tomorrow night. Pew is officially closed, but they urged employees "to do as much work as you can" from home. Which, Drew being Drew, means he'll work close to a full day and knock off when I have to begin. This also means that I will have to find a way to amuse Rachel without killing my body (although I do so want to go sledding and build a snowman and maybe have a snowball fight). And I'd sure like to get to that pile of mail, so...