There’s no place like home and I am feeling incredibly grateful to be here right now.
Dry, warm, with the roof still over our heads, the electricity, the car in one piece parked outside and my sense of humour still intact as I read
the news (and fake news) coverage of Wild Wednesday. We’ve endured the worst November storm in 44 years and the worst day of rain in three. All thanks to a supercell thunderstorm that’s rolled across the state.
I know the inhabitants of other states must laugh and roll their eyes as we panicked our way through the day. Debating whether to drive or not, to keep our children home from school or not, to work from home rather than spend half the day in traffic but it was a terrifying day for this city.
The rain just kept coming and coming as I drove to work yet I felt safer driving today than I have on your average picture perfect, ‘Love you, Sydney’ morning. Everyone on the road was courteous, safe and patient. I have never seen my fellow drivers and I line our cars up along the lane markings with as much precision as I did today.
It took me 90 minutes to make a commute that would usually be 25 minutes with a 7am start. The Western Distributor out of the city was completely shut to traffic because of flooding. Police were climbing the sides of the bridge to keep an eye on things while I quietly panicked because the good old A4 is the only way I know how to get myself to work.
It was all good in the end, though. My car GPS and my hazy recognition of the side streets and surrounding suburbs of my workplace got me to the work car park with a minimum of panic and no wrong turns. I must be a fully fledged Sydney driver now based on that achievement. That free coffee tasted especially good when I finally rolled into work. A bit wet around the edges but otherwise in good working order.
Here I am at the end of the day bracing myself for the drive home. I made sure that I’d been to the bathroom, had a solid drink of water, done my DVT leg exercises and applied a decent slick of lipgloss before I hit the road.
It was overkill, as things often are in Sydney. I made it home during a break in the rain and there were hardly any cars on the road for the peak hour commute. That being said, I’m preparing myself for Supercell Day 2 tomorrow.
How did you fare today? Are you home yet?
