Snow Day

 

It’s a snow day today. Recently the snow days seem to generally happen on Sunday. Church is cancelled and we stay warm and safe in our homes. Though I love to go to the House of the Lord and worship, I can worship Him at home as well, and today that is what we will do. In all things I will give thanks for He sends the sun, the rain and the snow storms.

I’m sure the children in the area would much rather have a snow day on a week-day, for then they would be able to play hooky from school for the day. How well I remember the snow days of my childhood. We gathered with anticipation in front of the radio on the kitchen counter and waited for those words, “No school at Sheldon Community Schools today!” Hallelujah! Many times it was a reprieve for unfinished homework. Sometimes it meant one more day to study for a test. (As if we really did that!) But mostly, it was a ‘fun’ day. I believe our mom enjoyed snow days even more than we did. She was not one of those mothers who couldn’t wait for September when the children got out of her hair for seven hours a day. Oh no, she loved having her offspring at home with her even if for some of that time we were outside playing or at a friend’s house.

A snow day could mean any number of special things would happen. The very first thing we did was to collect some freshly fallen snow in a large bowl and bring it inside for Mom to make ‘snow ice cream.’ Of course, we were admonished to stay away from the yellow snow!  The ingredients were simple, a little sugar and a little vanilla mixed into the snow, but was it ever good! After having our fill of snow ice cream we would sit around the kitchen table playing games. Some of our favorites were, Anagrams, Wahoo, Monopoly and Clue. Other times Mom would whip up a batch of taffy and we would have a taffy pull. We were fortunate enough to live on the edge of town where we could enjoy ‘country living’ but still have friends nearby. If the snow accumulation was considerable we would bundle up and venture outside to build snow forts and tunnels. When our friends joined us a lively game of “Fox and Geese” ensued. Sometimes we built mazes in the snow. Of course, there were always a number of snow angels decorating the lawn as well. There were no hills in our neighborhood, but when the snow plows went by they usually left huge piles along the side of the road which served as sledding slopes. We tried ice skating on the tiny creek that ran behind our house, but it was usually so dry that there wasn’t enough water to freeze. If it wasn’t too cold, we walked the mile or so to the city park where an open spot was flooded for use as an ice skating rink.

Today, as I sit and listen to the howling wind and watch the drifts form across our driveway, I am glad for the memories of those snow days long ago.  That girl of my childhood, loved to wrap up in winter garb and venture outside on a blustery day. Today, this girl is wishing there was someone else who would go out and do the chicken chores!