Snowy day, Not Snow Day
Two of the most glorious words in the English language, if you grew up in New England, are Snow Day! If there was a storm, we jumped out of bed, ran to the window, and hoped that the white ensemble worn by the trees, lawn, and pavement was enough to cancel school. We sat in front of the TV or radio and waited for the cancellation list to be announced. The city we lived in began with B, so we were close to the list’s start. If you missed it, you had to wait for the C towns, D towns, N, S, and Y towns till they ran it again!
When “No School in Brockton” was announced, we let out a whoop! In high school, I’d climb back into bed and fall back to sleep thrilled I had another day to study for my Latin exam! In elementary school, a perfect day would start with a bowl of Life Cereal and Leave It To Beaver reruns.
Snow pants, coats, and boots made us teeter through the snow to make angels, snowmen, and snowballs. After my dad and brothers shoveled the driveway, there were two perfect snow mounds left at the bottom for making forts and tunnels.
After the plows came, the hill on our street was full of children whizzing down on their wooden Flexible Flyers with the bright red runners. We went home for lunch soggy and cold, our faces bright red. After a Campbell’s Soup lunch, the seemingly endless afternoon stretched out with so many possibilities.
We had a perfect snowstorm this week (about 17 inches in my town). With COVID-19, however, my child’s school is working with a hybrid remote schedule. That means that those scheduled to be in the building can simply stay home, and everyone goes to school on computer. I know we will be happy in June when we don’t have to go extra days, but we missed the gift of a sudden day off.
After Hubby and I cleared the snow, we did come in soggy, tired with red faces. I made soup and lit a fire where my child and I worked for the afternoon. Although cozy, it still wasn’t the same.
