NEMO

     Sorry I've been absent but my family and I spent the weekend in New Jersey, having fled the blizzard that knocked our little Massachusetts town on its butt.  For some ridiculous reason, someone somewhere decided that this blizzard should be named "Nemo".  "Nemo" was brutal, knocked down power-lines and trees.  My pool was completely destroyed from a fallen tree;  I suppose I should be grateful that it wasn't my house.  Still, the pool has been here for twenty-one years and I will miss it a lot in the coming years.  
     We knew the storm was coming so we ended up leaving town Thursday night since class/school was cancelled for Friday.  We arrived in NJ around two in the morning; we literally brought in the minimum amount of stuff and passed out.  The next morning we headed to the rehab center to visit my grandfather.  He's been shuffled around to three different hospitals and this being his second rehab center since October.  He's doing alright and my grandmother is fussy as always, driving my grandfather bonkers.  We visited for a few hours until the snow started falling thick on the cars and road.  We returned to my Grandma's house for hot chocolate and a relaxing afternoon of reading.
     Saturday morning we spent shoveling my Grandma's driveway.  Central New Jersey ended up with about good foot of snow.  I was texting my friends by that point and hearing tons of horror stories about power outages and snow piling up.  In the afternoon my Uncle Randy and cousin Ryann came with us to visit Grandpa again.  Ryann is five and a half years old; she's sweet and very bright, sometimes a bit too clever.  She's a wonderful little girl but she's an only child - if you catch my drift.  She loves my sister, Dana, and is constantly glued to her side.  The two ended up having a mini sleepover last night in Dana's room.  I should have felt jealous that she wanted to stay with Dana and not me, but I know kids and I know for a fact that Ryann is a bed hog. 

Ryann and Dana are masters of Fruit Ninja

These goofballs

Sisterly Love

Cousins!

Aunt Bonnie (My Mom) and Ryann!

     This morning we were up bright and early, hitting the road by eight-thirty.  We hit traffic in Milford, CT and it took us an hour and a half to go five miles!  We even turned our car off in the middle of the highway, traffic was stopped dead for so long!  We eventually bailed and took an alternate route, the trip taking us seven and a half hours instead of the usual five.  

It was a looong day

     When we arrived home, the roads were treacherous, the snow was piled up to about three feet and there was no power!  Our house was frigid and my poor cats were shivering.  Someone, we're not sure who, took it upon themselves to plow our driveway. They didn't get all the snow and it still took us two hours to dig my car out and clean up the edges, but it was a huge help.  My sister's little boyfriend (coincidentally the younger brother of an old high school friend of mine) came over and helped shovel.  I had just finished digging out the candles, matches and lanterns when my mom decided to take us all out to dinner.  We hoped that by the time we returned that the power would magically have been restored, and it was!  We had made plans to crash at a friend's house for the night but we were able to instead stay at home.
     I'm definitely glad to be home; the snow was a huge nuisance and we had to throw out a lot of food from the fridge and freezwe, but I'm also happy we were able to visit my grandparents and see my little cousin.  I'm so excited to sleep in my own bed and be warm for the first time in hours.  Classes are cancelled for tomorrow so I plan on posting again about a decision I came to on Thursday.  I hope that everyone reading this in New England and along the Eastern coast are warm and safe!