Last Day of Snow in TX

Pflugerville, TX | 6AM | 2-19-21 I captured these images early yesterday morning. My family and I woke up at 5am yesterday to see if we could beat the lines at the local grocery stores. Walmart was our first stop, but we got there too early so we headed to Costco in Pflugerville but the employees said the store wouldn't open until noon. Driving through the parking lot on the way to Target, I asked my mom to park the car several times so I could get out in the early morning cold and take these shots. I'm familiar with the snow. In high school I went to Tahoe almost every winter. I went to college in Maine and walked to class ankle deep in snow back when my winter boots were just some high top air forces. This Texas winter storm was different though. I never could have imagined seeing a cactus completely frozen in ice, or a fire hydrant up to its neck in snow, or a shopping cart with water frozen so deeply in its bearings that it couldn't be pushed off the curb. Different. This was not the welcome we expected when moving to Austin. Despite the crazy week we've had with power outages, icy storms, food shortages, and not-so-clean water, I'm glad I got to spend it with my family. We had gloveless snowball fights and ran back in the house when our fingers almost froze off. We illuminated rounds of UNO and WAR with our phone lights when the power cut off. The darkness and decline of groceries offered a challenge for my mom that she literally destroyed! (the woman cooked steak in the dark!!!) I'm thankful to all the friends and family who checked in on us and offered help. May these pics be a visible form of my gratitude.