i hate that groundhog.

So if you haven't heard the groundhog predicted 6 more weeks of winter.  And boy, did he deliver.

After returning from our ski trip, I was finished with snow. I love snow like every other southerner...in moderation. Give me a good snow at home and a good ski trip, then I'm ready for spring.  We had our big snow of the season at home (even though I was working), so I was sure we were done for the season.  Man oh man was I wrong.  

For only working 3 days a week, I sure do draw the short end of the stick when it comes to working during big weather.  I was scheduled to work on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, and we were forecasted to get a pretty big snow on Wednesday.  I went to work prepared just in case with an extra set of scrubs, toiletries, and a queen sized blow up mattress and flannel sheets after last time's bunk bed disaster.  I told some of my coworkers about the air mattress and they chuckled a bit, but in the end, I think everyone will tell you it was the best thing ever.  

The snow started pouring down around lunchtime on Wednesday, even earlier than predicted.  And in the span of 30 minutes, the view from our conference room looked like this:

The reality of us being stuck again at the hospital as an essential employee was damped a bit as we giggled watching cars try to make it up the hill to the hospital.  There were lots of donuts and backwards sliding, and we probably shouldn't have laughed because these are people trying to get to the hospital, but we had to laugh.  Or else we would have cried.  The hospital parking deck and roads around the hospital were gridlocked, and people were leaving their cars stranded in the middle of the road.  Freak.Out. 

Quickly, scenes around the hospital looked like: 

 

So we finished out our shift and celebrated when our night shifters showed up hours early after being in traffic for hours on their way to work.  Really guys, I couldn't do my job without my coworkers.  The dedication of our staff in the midst of some crazy situations is the only way we stay sane.  Our night shift crew left their houses at 1:00 and didn't get to the hospital until at least 5:00 or 6:00.  So we let them nap once they got there and our management divided up some of the staff to cover the first part of their shift, and we made it happen.  The rest of us set up camp for the night, with our staff divided among two empty patient rooms so we could sleep before staffing again the next day.  

 

Thursday morning, our night crew slept in our camp while we took over.  And we made it work.  

I have to admit, my knee-jerk reaction was to pout...again.  Because here I am, stuck at the hospital, again, while my husband and son are at home sending me pictures like this:

showing 5 inches here, it kept snowing until we got a total of about 9 inches.

  

Of course, I would rather be home.  Of course, sometimes I wish that I had a job that allowed me to take a snow day.  But of course, I know that I'm doing what I am called to do.  If I am going to be stuck anywhere else besides home in a snow storm, this isn't a bad place to be.  Taking care of some of the most amazingly brave kids, and letting their parents know we are here for them {no matter what kind of storm is brewing outside}.   Our managers went outside to the courtyard and built this guy, which made us all smile:

By the time I actually got out there to see it in person, we thought we had a casualty...

But Janet and I resuscitated him.  We are pretty amazing nurses, might I remind you.

I had to smile as I left this place Thursday night.  Because this is my job. And I love it.

 And I woke up to this the next morning, leftover beauty from my overnight adventure at the hospital.
Morning by morning, new mercies I see.  All I have needed, thy hand hath provided. Great is they faithfulness, Lord unto me.