For more years than I can remember, I have been attending the Greater Houston Partnership’s annual State of the City luncheon. The current Mayor addresses an audience of 1200 – 1500 people and updates the crowd, filled with business and civic leaders, on the state of the city.

In all these years, the luncheon has never been cancelled. However, this year – one of the most important ever as we anxiously awaited learning about budget deficits – the lunch scheduled for today did not happen. The Greater Houston Partnership postponed one of their biggest events of the year.

As the sun shone brightly yesterday I was questioning if it was really necessary. Having lived in Houston a majority of my life, I’m a snow skeptic. As a child, I would be so disappointed when snow was predicted, promised and then never fell. Now, I’m watching my son experience the same level of disappointment.

When I awoke this morning, I was relieved that State of the City had been postponed. While my own route to the lunch might have been navigable, many of our guests would have been traveling from afar, even other cities. They would not have been able to make it to downtown Houston.

While we may laugh at ourselves and certainly, those of you who relocated from colder regions are just amazed at our response, ice in Houston is a serious deal. The real reason it is serious is because we don’t know how to drive on it. Furthermore, as a warm weather region, we do not have the equipment necessary to manage the roads for a major ice storm.

So, I have joined the masses and am snuggled warmly with my family in our home. Fortunately, the new Ipad, the trusty laptop and the family computer ensure that I’m not missing a beat with work!