Do you want a car wash?

That was the best question I was asked today.   I am asked this question approximately every 9 days when I fill Civi with gas, but today the question made me laugh out loud.  

I went to bed last night prepared to wake up early to allow myself time to shovel and drive safely to work on slick, snow-covered roads.  I already knew of at least one coworker who did not plan to go to work today after hearing yesterday's forecasted blizzard and I'd heard of several others over the past week who were just waiting for this day to come so they too could have a day off.  I was fearful that few people would show up for work and being the hyper-responsible team player I am, there was never any doubt that I would go to work today. I actually wanted to go to work. There is a certain sense of community that occurs on snowy days like today that doesn't come on any old winter Wisconsin day and I wanted to be a part of that.

I arrived at work a few minutes early, my slippery commute only taking 10 minutes longer than usual.  As I walked down the hall to my office, I was surprised to see only one empty office.  I felt proud of those who braved the storm and even arrived early.  Our leadership team was appreciative, too, and demonstrated it with face-to-face "thank yous" and a pizza lunch.  The CEO of our parent organization also treated us to free lunch in our café.  Call me a Rebarchik, but I cashed in on both free meals, saving my café salad for dinner, since my pizza lunch was a bigger meal than I had planned to allow myself as I fasted in celebration of Ash Wednesday.

I correctly predicted the friendly sense of community at work today. A place that is usually tense and terse became a soft, kind, caring place.  It's amazing how a winter storm can cause people to take pause and focus on taking care of ourselves and each other.  All day long, people were checking in with each other regarding their safety driving to and from work.  By 3pm, there were five of us who had developed a type of support group as we brainstormed safety plans for each of us for the rest of the night.  I chose to stay a little late, hoping that would give the plows more time to do their work and I could catch the little hole in the storm so I wouldn't need to drive in white out conditions. As I hiked to my car through the foot of snow that covered our work parking lot, I passed a coworker who handed the work shovel to me so I could dig my car out as he went to thaw his frozen head indoors.  I was able to get Civi out relatively easily, but another coworker was not as lucky.  Watching two male egos banter over the best way to negotiate Katti's car our of the snowy parking lot made me chuckle.  My favorite image of the day was that of these two men pushing her car across the lot, Little Miss Sunshine style. 

I was surprised to hear how some folks had prepared for this storm...one colleague packed an overnight bag in case she got stuck at work (she decided to spend the night at a nearby hotel), another spent the night at a friend's house last night so she would be closer to work this morning to ensure she could come in. I decided these would be the kind of people who would do well in surviving hurricanes of the South and wildfires of the West.  I don't know that I would do that well...I think I'm too lazy. 

Ever since I became an honorary New Orleanian a year and a half ago, I have been trying to wrap my mind around what it must have been like to live through Hurricane Katrina.  I have heard story after story, and tried my damnedest to truly and deeply empathize with storm victims.  Although I think I've been successful at offering sincere care and concern, I have never really felt able to truly put myself in a survivor's shoes.  Today was the worst winter day I can remember in my adult life.  It snowed and blowed all day, the plows could not keep up, and the city ran out of salt. But despite everyone's anxiety and fear about battling the wintery roads, we all made it to and from work safely (well those of us who went), had access to friends and family, had lots of options for warm, safe shelter, had plenty of food (free food) on hand, and knew within a day or so, conditions would be nearly back to normal.  I don't think there is anything that could happen here that would even give us a hint of what it is like to live through a major natural disaster. 

Upon my return home from Florida last week, I decided I hated Wisconsin and started fantasizing about a way out.  After today, I've had a change of heart.  I do not hate Wisconsin, not even on the worst of winter days like today. I am grateful for winter days like these that bond people closer together.  I am grateful for my coworkers that came to work today so the workload could be shared, grateful for the hot lunch I shared with my peers, grateful for the slow, careful drivers that shared the interstate with me during my drive home, grateful for the tracks their cars were making so my car had a path to follow and keep moving forward, and grateful for my brother-in-law who fed my dog and let him go potty on his way home from work so I didn't have to be plagued with worry and guilt trying to hurry home to care for him.  

I recently heard about some interesting research which showed that contrary to popular belief that living in a warm, sunny place would make everything better, research shows that the happiest people on earth live in some of the coldest places in the world (Denmark, Switzerland, Austria).  Shocking! I suppose it's because we have to figuratively and literally huddle together to stay warm and closeness feels good and brings happiness? And I'm certain the Alps help the Swiss stay happy. 

My answer is yes. I do want a car wash.