Snow Day #2
We had a bit of snow yesterday, thus the schools were closed. Retrospectively speaking, the kids could have gone to school; the roads were not really bad until evening time. However, last night, the big snow started. Schools called off classes last night, even before the accumulation started piling up. That at least allowed me to turn off my alarm. In the event that the Gods (Melina and Aaron) were still asleep at 6 am, I'd be able to go back to sleep, at least for a little while.
So, I get out of bed at 7:17 am...the latest I've slept in probably 7 years, and check to see whether or not the base is closed. If the base is closed, Dad is home. Yippee! The local weather channel says the base is closed; the 2nd local weather channel says the base is closed; the website for the base says, "Base employees are excused from duty today, except those personnel who are designated base-essential." Tim isn't base-essential! He's a contractor. Looks to me like Dad has a snow day.
Usually on a snow day, Tim participates in a phone chain to let everyone know that the base is closed. As of 8:25 am, we hadn't received any phone calls. Just to be sure that he indeed was not expectd to report to work, Tim called his boss. What did the boss say? You know what is coming! The boss said something to the effect of: "The way the closure is worded, contractors are not excused from work. I'll be going into the office in about an hour."
What?!? Contractors are never considered essential personnel, and furthermore, they aren't even supposed to be on the base if the military personnel aren't there. What if, Tim gets in the car, drives the hour or more it will take to get to work in this snow, arrives at work, and is told that all the base-essential personnel were excused? What then? Can he bill the time he spent in his car because no one can decide if the base is actually closed or not? As far as I am concerned, if the local news channel says the base is closed, it is closed. I told Tim that he can decide what he wants to do, but please, shovel the driveway first. That will probably take him most of the morning :)
***
Having said all that, yesterday was a pretty nice snow day. We all stayed in our pajamas (my school was closed, too, so I didn't have to teach in the evening). The kids went outside and played for a long time in the snow. They drank hot chocolate with marshmallows, and pretty much had a day that most people think about fondly once they are grown-ups. Did we do any math? Well, we counted by twos when we brought out the marshmallows. Did we do spelling? No, not yesterday. We did read...quite a bit in fact. The girls and Aaron dragged out a bunch of books; the girls read silently to themselves, while Aaron tried sounding out some words and looked at the pictures. Even I read the first few chapters of Matilda while cooking dinner. Not a bad day all around.
So, I get out of bed at 7:17 am...the latest I've slept in probably 7 years, and check to see whether or not the base is closed. If the base is closed, Dad is home. Yippee! The local weather channel says the base is closed; the 2nd local weather channel says the base is closed; the website for the base says, "Base employees are excused from duty today, except those personnel who are designated base-essential." Tim isn't base-essential! He's a contractor. Looks to me like Dad has a snow day.
Usually on a snow day, Tim participates in a phone chain to let everyone know that the base is closed. As of 8:25 am, we hadn't received any phone calls. Just to be sure that he indeed was not expectd to report to work, Tim called his boss. What did the boss say? You know what is coming! The boss said something to the effect of: "The way the closure is worded, contractors are not excused from work. I'll be going into the office in about an hour."
What?!? Contractors are never considered essential personnel, and furthermore, they aren't even supposed to be on the base if the military personnel aren't there. What if, Tim gets in the car, drives the hour or more it will take to get to work in this snow, arrives at work, and is told that all the base-essential personnel were excused? What then? Can he bill the time he spent in his car because no one can decide if the base is actually closed or not? As far as I am concerned, if the local news channel says the base is closed, it is closed. I told Tim that he can decide what he wants to do, but please, shovel the driveway first. That will probably take him most of the morning :)
***
Having said all that, yesterday was a pretty nice snow day. We all stayed in our pajamas (my school was closed, too, so I didn't have to teach in the evening). The kids went outside and played for a long time in the snow. They drank hot chocolate with marshmallows, and pretty much had a day that most people think about fondly once they are grown-ups. Did we do any math? Well, we counted by twos when we brought out the marshmallows. Did we do spelling? No, not yesterday. We did read...quite a bit in fact. The girls and Aaron dragged out a bunch of books; the girls read silently to themselves, while Aaron tried sounding out some words and looked at the pictures. Even I read the first few chapters of Matilda while cooking dinner. Not a bad day all around.
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