Snow Days

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event.  You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?  ~J.B. Priestley

Remember when we were younger and we could not wait for snow days? Waking up in the morning, seeing all the white on the ground and the white that continued to fall in thick, heavy flakes, and praying to G-d that at some point in the next hour, you would hear the beautiful words, "School is canceled today" And when you finally heard the news, you would heave a huge sigh of relief. No school, playing outside in the snow for hours on end, watching tv during the day, and hot cocoa with marshmallows. Was there a better way to spend the day? 

I remember those days, maybe not all that well, but I still remember them. Where I live though, we rarely get snow days. We are the Midwest, we know how to handle snow (unlike some other states and cities that cancel everything when they get an inch of snow). Heck, it is normal for us to be covered in inches of snow throughout winter. Nowadays though, I no longer pray for snow days; I pray for days without snow, or at least a minimal amount. 

Yet, despite my hatred of snow (and slush and ice), I absolutely love the first snowfall of winter. The first time the snow falls, I just stand by the window and look outside, taking it in and wondering at the beauty of it. There is just something so beautiful about it, and not just when it falls, but when it covers everything and I look outside and it is all white. There is just something so beautiful, so magical about it. 

A week later though, I am ready for spring and some warm weather.