I think that snow gets a bad rap. In fact, I’ll even go so far as to say that snow can be good for your mental health. No, really. Follow along…
If you live in a part of the country that gets snow, then you probably have experienced the unparalleled feeling of joy that is known as a “snow day.” It’s the feeling of waking up and just knowing that, for the day, you will have no responsibilities whatsoever.
It usually happens like this... Your alarm goes off and you see lots of snow. A little seed of hope sprouts in your mind, so you check for three clues.
1. Are the streets plowed? A lack of plowed streets indicates that the weather forecast is calling for more snow to fall quickly. With no plows in sight you progress to Clue #2.
2. Do you hear children? Children waiting in line for a school bus at 7:00 a.m. feel the impending doom of forced learning, thus they make little noise. Children who know by 7:00 a.m. that they have a snow day make gleeful sounds as they build snowmen. If you hear child chatter, progress to Clue #3.
3. Everyone has a retired neighbor living in the corner house who, decades ago, appointed himself the neighborhood watchdog. If that neighbor is bundled up to a point where he could hike to the top of Mt. Everest, and if his snow blower is clearing everyone’s sidewalk except the lone single guy on the street who, in the summer, is too lazy to mow his lawn and Mr. Snowblower sees this as a personal affront, then, cha-ching!, you now have enough evidence to turn on the TV.
So you do, and you wait. And after a moment or two a vision appears— your school or business’s name scrolling across the bottom of the screen. No school! No work! A vacation day provided by Mother Nature!
Suddenly a flood of possibilities flows through your mind amid visions of slippers and hot chocolate. A whole day of free time! Perhaps you’ll watch the ‘Burbs. Maybe you’ll play a nice, violent game of Monopoly with your family. At that point you’re so happy you don’t care if your brother gets Boardwalk and Park Place.
It’s as if God sent an eleventh commandment that “thou shalt relax,” and this is one commandment that you will surely follow, because, if you do, perhaps it will keep snowing. And the only thing better than one snow day is two in a row!
If you live in a part of the country that gets snow, then you probably have experienced the unparalleled feeling of joy that is known as a “snow day.” It’s the feeling of waking up and just knowing that, for the day, you will have no responsibilities whatsoever.
It usually happens like this... Your alarm goes off and you see lots of snow. A little seed of hope sprouts in your mind, so you check for three clues.
1. Are the streets plowed? A lack of plowed streets indicates that the weather forecast is calling for more snow to fall quickly. With no plows in sight you progress to Clue #2.
2. Do you hear children? Children waiting in line for a school bus at 7:00 a.m. feel the impending doom of forced learning, thus they make little noise. Children who know by 7:00 a.m. that they have a snow day make gleeful sounds as they build snowmen. If you hear child chatter, progress to Clue #3.
3. Everyone has a retired neighbor living in the corner house who, decades ago, appointed himself the neighborhood watchdog. If that neighbor is bundled up to a point where he could hike to the top of Mt. Everest, and if his snow blower is clearing everyone’s sidewalk except the lone single guy on the street who, in the summer, is too lazy to mow his lawn and Mr. Snowblower sees this as a personal affront, then, cha-ching!, you now have enough evidence to turn on the TV.
So you do, and you wait. And after a moment or two a vision appears— your school or business’s name scrolling across the bottom of the screen. No school! No work! A vacation day provided by Mother Nature!
Suddenly a flood of possibilities flows through your mind amid visions of slippers and hot chocolate. A whole day of free time! Perhaps you’ll watch the ‘Burbs. Maybe you’ll play a nice, violent game of Monopoly with your family. At that point you’re so happy you don’t care if your brother gets Boardwalk and Park Place.
It’s as if God sent an eleventh commandment that “thou shalt relax,” and this is one commandment that you will surely follow, because, if you do, perhaps it will keep snowing. And the only thing better than one snow day is two in a row!
2 comments:
An inspired post! I grew up without the joy of snow days because school never closed, but that never put a damper on my enthusiasm for the snow itself. Now living in Buffalo, I truly enjoy the holiday we are often treated to by a lake effect day.
More than half my snow days from Cleveland went to Erie, PA. Damn unpredictable lake effect!
Robin, don't you have a neighborhood Mr. Snowblower?
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