Blizzard Shmlizzard

This polar vortex (even the name angers me) messed up a lot more than just the roadways in this area. For the past five days, I have been a hottttt messss because I've been without my kids.
Saturday morning, Aaron and I arranged to meet in Chicago so I could get the kids back from their MN vacation. Charlie and I left bright and early, trying to beat the blizzard-like weather that was headed our way. We made it two hours into our trip when we learned that Aaron was trapped in MN due to icy roads and wouldn't be able to make the drive to Chicago. My heart was broken, but I knew he was doing what was best for the kids. Of course I didn't want them to be in danger on the road. After a brief meltdown in the gas station parking lot (behind sunglasses of course), Charlie and I turned back around and headed to Fort Wayne, knowing it would be at least three days until one of us would be able to make it back to Chicago. Heartbroken doesn't even begin to describe it.
Seventeen inches of snow fell that following day. Charlie and I made the most of our time stuck at home...lots of shoveling, tons of Redbox movies, way too much take-out, and lots of moping around about being unable to get to the kids. Day one of work being canceled passed us by. Again...movies, shoveling, eating...it was fun for the first 24 hours. Then Tuesday came and we were once again surprised with closures at work, but with that excitement came the realization that they were closed because of the horrific road conditions. The kids flew in from MSP to ORD Tuesday morning. Their flight arrived at ORD at 10:09 am. My brother (aka MY HERO) met them at the airport to swoop them up and take them to his place until Charlie and I made it there later that afternoon...except that never happened. We woke up Tuesday morning to frozen pipes. The ridiculously low temperatures the night before (oh say at least -40 with the windchill) had left our waterways inaccessible. And more than just not being able to shower, we had to get the pipes thawed out before we could hit the road for Chicago. We did not want to come home to busted pipes. Three hours later, we had water again and were on the way to reunite with my precious babies! Two seconds into the trip I realized this was going to be nearly impossible. My husband (my very very very patient husband) pulled onto the nearby highway that would take us 93 miles into our three hour trip...three cars in ditches, one fishtail of our own in which we barely missed a passing pickup, and a lot of "hunny slow down"s from me, we decided that it just wasn't worth it. We could not risk the drive. A call to my brother letting me know he could keep them for the night, many texts back and forth to my mom telling her the road conditions, and one MAJOR meltdown from me on the side of the road, and my husband and I were headed back towards home, once again, without my babies.
I can honestly say I've never felt the emotions that I felt that day. I sat there in the car thinking that I was the worst mother in the universe...I mean, what mother would go an extra five days of not seeing her kids? What mom would let a little blizzard keep her from getting her kids back from their ten-day-vacation? What mom would just give in and turn around for a second time? It sounds overly dramatic, I realize that...but my heart was shattered. My eyes were swollen from crying, my hands were wet with sweat, my face was pale from the fear of the short drive we'd done in the horrible road conditions...but mostly, my heart just ached with pain. I needed to touch the little faces of the only two people that really mattered in that moment. I needed to kiss the cheeks off those perfect little faces that I hadn't seen in almost two weeks.
My brother (see also, hero) had the kids so I was able to FaceTime with them a couple times. He sent me pictures of them and kept me updated on everything they were doing.  First thing this morning, Charlie made the trip to Chicago to get Lilly and Anderson. I had to work, but Charlie kept me updated on the road conditions, which were still pretty crummy today and he let me know the very instant that he had the kids and was heading home with them. A precisely 5:04pm today, I pulled into my driveway and out ran four little legs of the two most beautiful babies I've ever seen in my whole life. I can honestly say that I think they were just as happy to see me as I was to see them. It was the best reunion I've ever had.
It was hard to let them out of my site tonight. And it was even harder putting them to bed. I wanted to keep them up late, but they were both snoozing off on the couch. Anderson was all cuddled up on Charlie and Lilly was all nestled up on me. For the first time in the past five days I feel like myself again. My family is all back together and I pray it is a very long time before we're all separated again.

Thank you Dear Lord for keeping my family safe over these past few days. Thank you for being with my husband as he traveled today, and for the patient man that he is. Thank you for the happiness that my kids experience and thank you for keeping them comfortable during these transitional times. Thank you for my brother, for his love of my kids, and for the protection that he brought to them. Thank you for blessing me with family like this- family who helps out at a moment's notice, without even thinking twice. Thank you for bringing my family back together today and for the days we get to spend together again.