Still not in Utah anymore...

On this, Jane's third day of preschool in Albuquerque, we have delayed start because of snow. It's been an interesting "Not in Utah" moment again.

It didn't even occur to me that it would be snow day. I had noticed the snow on the ground--much less than an inch--and took the extra precautions to get out the door a couple minutes early to scrape the ice off the windshield and to make sure that Jane was actually wearing socks. The roads were a little slick but not too bad as long as you're careful, and we arrived at school with five minutes to spare.

Instead of a dozen cars in the parking lot, there were two.

Jane and I were met at the door by one of the facility's administrators who informed us that Pre-K would start in an hour, and we were welcome to either come back then or to just take the day off.

As much as I loved getting Jane back in the van, driving home, getting all three kids out and into the apartment, watching tv for half an hour, then getting everyone's shoes and coats  back on to get back in the car and drive back to school to get Jane out and drop her off and then drive back home (only to do it all again to pick her up in an hour), I think next time I'll check the weather reports for school snow days instead of trusting my Utah-based snow instincts.

To be fair to Albuquerque Public Schools, it's only right that I mention that it wasn't all about the snow. It is 10 degrees outside--I don't care where you live, that's cold. When you add the wind chill, it feels like -3 degrees. Cold.

I am still struggling with our move. To be fair to myself, it's been quite the transition. I haven't given myself much credit on everything really that we've been dealing with all at once. But, I don't want to dwell on that now. Instead, I thought I'd focus on something else instead.

Laundromats. I have rediscovered my love for laundromats.

I first used a laundromat when I was in college in Logan, living with Annamarie. (During my first year of college I always took my laundry back home to my parents' house on the weekends.) There was a laundromat just a few blocks down the road. On any given afternoon, I would load all my laundry into Todd (remember Todd, my most favorite 1989 Ford Probe? he's still my favorite ever car) and make the quick trip to the Mt. Logan Laundromat. Two hours later, I would come home with fresh, clean clothes all nicely folded.

On Saturday, I went to a laundromat again for the first time in several years. I remembered how nice it is to have five loads running all at the same time. I remembered how nice it is to have that free time where I could do any number of things that I like to do, all while knowing that I was productively contributing to the family. I remembered how nice it is to fold laundry and have it stay folded. Without small children present, all the piles of clothes miraculously stayed right where I put them! And when I got home three hours after I left, everyone put away their own pile of clothes and the laundry was done.

I think I'll enjoy this particular aspect of apartment living. Now that I remember how much I love laundromats.