When I looked outside this morning, I had the bile of panic rise in my throat. It was only a few inches on the ground, but it was the first REAL storm of the season. People die on the Salt Lake freeways because every year one moron forgets how to drive in these conditions.

I used to overcompensate by watching the local weather like a hawk and awaking early when it looked like a storm. Then I could leave thirty minutes early and drive on an abandoned freeway. Someone else would die, but I would be at work when they did.

This morning, however, the snow took me by surprise. I hadn’t watched the news last night. Not only did I not wake up early, I had slept in. The vision of struggling on the freeway in the snow flashed in my mind and the panic swelled. It took me ten full seconds before I remembered that I work at home .

Someone probably died on the freeway this morning and I can’t imagine how their family is grieving. All I know is that it wasn’t me.