Spring Break: The Prequel, Part III
Monday, February 22, 2021
Well, here we go again… only, this time, it’s different.
First, a bit of background. I live on the southeast side of Houston, TX, and I’m a high school teacher (and a community college adjunct professor AND a university adjunct professor, but who’s counting?). Just as it is elsewhere in the country, Spring Break is a much-anticipated, much needed hiatus after the long dearth of days off following Christmas break. The problem is that, around here, anyway, we can’t seem to catch a break! Or, I guess, maybe, we can, but it’s too much of one? I don’t know… let me explain.
2019
This seems to be where our troubles began. Spring Break was scheduled for March 11 through 15. This went off without a hitch, just as a “normal” Spring Break should. But then, on Sunday, March 17, chaos erupted near our school district, which is located next to multiple chemical plants. One of those, the ITC plant, caught fire and burned for about three or four days, spewing all manner of toxic chemicals and unknown microscopic assailants into the air. Initially, they had us come to school on Monday, but after extensive absences and public outcry, they cancelled school for Tuesday. The fire was contained that day and put out that night, but the levels of Benzene in the air made it dangerous to be outside and moving about, so school remained closed throughout the rest of the week. We returned on March 25, resulting in a 2-week long Spring Break.
2020
The following year, we thought that Spring Break would be back to normal, but a few of us at work were quietly discussing this new virus we were hearing about and how things seemed to be getting pretty bad. “Do you think we’ll be on lockdowns?” one of them asked me.
“Nah,” I replied, “I think it’s overblown. They might try to make us wear masks, but I don’t think anything would be shut down.” We proceeded to reference the prior year’s 2-week Spring Break and laugh about it, then headed out of school for 2020’s Spring Break on March 9.
Little did we know we wouldn’t see the inside of the building again for over six months!
And of course, I need little explanation here, as we all know that Coronavirus was a thing that happened. It was and is terrible, is affecting every aspect of our lives, and had changed the entire face of our nation from interpersonal interactions to national politics—but that is a topic for another time.
2021
Our Spring Break this year is scheduled to occur March 15 through 19. My husband works in a neighboring district, and though all three of my jobs have the same week marked off (thank God), his is the week before. We were lamenting and bemoaning the fact that we would not have our week off together this year, when suddenly, Mother Nature saw fit to give us our time, only this year, it didn’t come after the scheduled Spring Break, but before!
On Friday, February 12, we were looking at weather forecasts none of us had the faith left to believe. You see, down here, on this side of Houston, even when there are light snow flurries, we rarely see a flake. The last time we had any accumulation of snow here was in 2009, and even then, it was a scant half-inch that melted away by the end of the day. But this time, forecasters gave stern warnings and vehement predictions. There would be ice—lots of ice. This would be followed by snow. Temperatures would be sustained lower than they had been in a century!
We all spoke to our students about what we would do if we were out of school on Monday. No one saw what was coming.
The ice began on Sunday. We could hear it battering the windows for hours on end. By Monday morning, when we went out, there was about a 1-inch layer of snow over everything, but the snow held a sinister secret. The ice underneath was also about an inch thick on its own. No one was going anywhere.
All around town, we were hearing of people whose pipes had burst because they either didn’t hear, believe, and do what was necessary to winterize their pipes, or because they simply didn’t know how. Several of our freeways were shut down because they have large portions which are elevated and more susceptible to such weather.
But it was worse than that. The low temperatures liked it so much here that they decided to stay a while. They hung around for the entire week, with only an hour or two during midday rising above 32 degrees. That means the ice and the snow stayed.
Power was disrupted. Millions of people were without power and hundreds were rushed to the emergency room or even died from carbon monoxide inhalation when they tried to use a grill or stove to keep warm. They didn’t know better; this is not something people here are equipped to deal with.
We also had a boil water order for most of the area for most of the week. Too many pipes burst, too many treatment plants without adequate power, too many dangerous things lurking in the liquid.
At my house, we lost power for about 23 hours. We had our kids huddled around the fireplace, and my husband and I slept upstairs, where the INSIDE temperature was in the 40s, huddled under tons of blankets. We couldn’t shower or brush our teeth or wash our clothes, so by the end of it, we all kind of stank and felt icky.
So, yes, we got yet another extra week off of work/school. But it was not exactly a vacation.
In fact, the effects still linger. As I write this today, Monday, February 22, my husband’s school system is still shut down due to issues with water and power that still exist in his district. My district and one next to us are apparently the only ones around where students were expected to come back to campus face-to-face today. Our boil water order was lifted late last night, but we still need to flush all the water fountains at school to be sure they’re only running through new, clean water. Many, many students have been absent today, and I’m sure that more will be as the day goes on.
2021, Part II???
All of this also begs the question: What next? If the last few years have taught me anything, it’s that I have no idea what’s coming around the corner. Will we have another late March surprise this year that knocks us out again for an additional week? Or was this hard freeze enough to count for this year’s disaster break?
I can’t speak for anyone else, but I am honestly just a little tired of living through historical events right now! Enough already! I’m done. I’m exhausted. I want this long, strange trip to be over. It’s okay, really. One week of Spring Break will do quite nicely, thank you!