I thought I should try and stay away from the snow topic this morning but that just doesn’t seem likely. It’s on everyone’s mind. I have a feeling however that the Blizzard of 2011 will not be all that powerful and will only result in two to four inches of snow, in Chicago anyway. I’m sure outlying areas will see significantly more snow but I think the city will be mostly spared. (Prove me wrong Old Man Winter, prove me wrong!) I’d love a snow day for sure.
I think the last snow day I had was in 1997, Chicago got hit with a pretty significant snowfall that January. According to the Chicago Tribune archives it was around January 10, 1997 that we had that last really heavy snow. I remember it only because I was sitting, looking out the window, extremely excited I didn’t have to go to work. I was filled with the joy only children feel when school is cancelled due to snow. I had a Catholic school education and that school didn’t close for any reason. So I don’t think we had much of any snow days when I was in school. Trudging through mountains of snow to school was apparently some sort of Catholic penance. So not to have to go to work due to excessive snowfall was like a miracle.
But that was the last time, 13 years ago was the last time I had a snow day. That’s so amazing to me. Meanwhile if Louisianan gets half an inch the whole state shuts down for three days, Lucky Cajuns.
How would I spend my snow day, if such an event would come to pass? I’d probably go back to bed after I got the call from my boss that the office was closed. Then I suppose I get up around the crack of eleven and look out the window and stretch. I might suit up and take a step towards digging my car out. I might bug my neighbor a bit, asking her if she wanted to go play in the snow. (Fingers crossed) It’s been a long time since I played in the snow. I would consider the construction of a massive fortification and declare war on all whom trespass and unleash a hell of snowballs and boiling oil. Okay, maybe not the oil. Then, after getting too cold to continue to play I would go back inside and probably make some hot chocolate and relax in front of the warming glow of the television. I might open a bottle of wine after that and look out the window, marveling at nature’s beautiful winter fury.
I’d go to sleep happy that I’d had an opportunity to have some snow fun, but slowly rue the fact that it was over and I’d have to get back to the real world and my job. Snow days can be cruel like that in the end I suppose. But again, we might only get a few inches and all those snow day dreams will have to remain just that.
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