The Answer is 'Three'

My family (how many? 'three') is working their way home from Seattle as I write this. How many days have they been gone? 'Three.' It's currently snowing, so I've been checking the highway traffic cameras along the I5 corridor from Seattle to Portland. It's snowing just about everywhere in between.

In a town where we usually measure snow's presence in hours, we're measuring it this winter in weeks. We've had snow on the ground in central SE Portland continuously for 'three' weeks now. That's two full weeks of school vacation, preceded by nearly a full week of snow days during the initial onslaught. Oh sure, as of this afternoon, we were down to a skiff across the lawn, but nevertheless, we've had visible snow since December 13. And now, on the verge of school resuming, the snow freshens its cover.

For my sister, who lives in the Coast Range mountains, she's had a full-blown winter accumulation for three continuous weeks. I'm betting her tractor is now just a snowdrift next to the barn and that the tractor won't re-emerge until sometime in April. And if I'm right, how many months will it have been buried? 'Three!'

Is the return to school at risk of a delay? Not at this time. The forecast calls for the snow to turn to rain before morning. The rest of the family will probably be home late, thanks to some slower than average drive speeds. At what time? Let's hope the answer to that question is not also 'three.'

The Seattle family time seems to have gone well. I would have liked to have been there too. I've had a chance to get a lot of things done here at home, as well as time to think about some large business issues what with just me and the animals. How many animals you ask? Three!

R's gym meet also seems to have gone well, according to reports. He scored consistently strong in all events except his rings. Apparently he bobbled his routine a bit somehow. He isn't satisfied with his performances overall. He expects so much from himself during competitions. In the big picture, this is good. He's connecting with his drive to be excellent at his sport. He may currently be lacking in some of the social graces that, when combined with his drive, will make for a hard-working yet gracious athlete, but he's making progress on those social skills. My next area of guidance for R will be that the pursuit of excellence, though often frustrating, need not be miserable. It can be frustrating AND joyous.

I'll have videos posted later tonight, I suspect. How many? Oh, at least 'three.'