Is it a blessing or a curse to have a snow day?
When my generation were children, we had genuine snow days. Those were the days we willingly woke up early and eagerly watched the scroll at the bottom of the television waiting to see that certain word: CLOSED. We would shout and get excited because those days, well, the bus was not coming. There was no internet and we did not have cable where I lived so it meant one thing, there would be ton of fun in the snow!
With acres of farmland and a massive hill that was nearly a half mile long on the property I lived on as a kid, we took sledding very seriously until someone did not bail off the sled before landing in a fence. There would be attempts of snow forts being built and plenty of snowballs thrown, all before the mandated grill cheese sandwich with tomato soup lunch. My dad would often have the woodstove burning so wet gloves and hats were only temporary situations. I miss those days, there was nowhere to go, but many things to do. As I got older that snow only became more of a nuisance, especially when having to go to work was a must.
Now instead of watching the local news channel to see the school had a cancellation, it can be easily found on the internet. Before COVID, it was a guaranteed no school day, but that was an indirect victim of the horrible virus. COVID introduced remote learning and meeting websites leading the students and educators to be tied to their computers instead of making snow angels along with snowmen in the cold white elements. My husband who teaches, enjoys having those extra days slated for make-up days free to enjoy his summer vacation a little bit earlier. His children, on the other hand, now have classes all day with their teacher online and now I find myself having to redirect two elementary school students back to their lessons on the computer. My daughters do not seem to mind the classwork while I am not a fan of being committed to being a referee.
My younger two kids will never be able to experience a snow day for all its worth. With the sun setting earlier this time of year, there is a small window at the end of the day dedicated to snow angels, snowmen and whatever else the winter weather inspires them to do. Trust me when I say, dunking the grill cheese sandwiches in the tomato soup will never go away!
