You know what I miss about grade school? Snow days.
Once upon a time the promise of overnight snow showers was like the promise of Christmas: I went to bed with visions of snowmen and mugs of hot chocolate dancing in my head, hoping, just hoping, that when I awoke there would be seven feet of snow on the ground and I’d have to dig tunnels from my doorway just to play outside, and school would blow away on the frozen wind like a shattered icicle.
Of course, my dream of seven or twelve or fifteen feet of snow never came to pass; but still, a good foot or so would get you what you needed: that blessed, unexpected day off, when the school board decided that everyone should play hooky.
And now? I know that the only way I’ll be able to get my own snow day is if there really are seven feet of snow on the ground. I listen to the overnight forecast with great hopes of blizzards, even now, but every morning a few more inches only means an extra twenty minutes of struggle to scrape off and dig out the car, and maneuver it precariously down my drifted driveway before I brave the badly plowed roads to work.
And I need more rest now than I did when I was seven. I’m not around to drive my parents crazy, and I would love the extra time to clean the house and sleep in and take a nap and bake bread and cook something yummy for dinner (I’ve been ravenously in the mood for my mom’s homemade mac and cheese) and watch a movie or two and sip some hot cocoa and burn a few candles and hang out with Simon and enjoy the fell beauty of winter from the warm cozy comfort of my own nest.
The weather is supposed to be baaaaaad tonight, and, ever the optimist, I’m hoping...
Because I’m all stocked up on food, and as long as the power is operative, I’m ready to snuggle in.
2 comments:
Totally agree about the snow days. I'll also express my love for two-hour delays. Two extra hours of sleep and no need to make up that day of school at the end of the year. Bliss.
Now, class is only cancelled if the snow is so bad the professor can't get to campus. And my professor for tonight lives close enough that he can walk. Not that I didn't try to convince him to cancel class anyway, but he wasn't going for it. Alas.
Having lived in Boston, where there were often multiple huge storms each winter, with average annual snowfalls over 100inches, I learned that I love snow despite not getting snow days (because we never got any), but I still wish sometimes that I could have an adult snow day. Chicago doesn't seem to be any different, though we haven't gotten more than 6-8inches in a single storm this year. The worst snow days are the ones where I have to dress professionally to see patients, and can't wear the jeans and comfy sweaters that I want to wear.
Today the snow is blowing all over the place, stinging my face. Not fun. Oh well, it matches my mood.
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