SNOW DAY!!!

It is true that the world is certainly changing and we are living in interesting times.  Just look at Snow Days.  This was a magical term when I was growing up, something whispered about by friends and spoken only in the depths of winter.  The possibility that enough snow could fall like manna from heaven and provide our own winter oasis and respite from school was gripping.

Having been born in Iowa the cold is in your bones.  Snow is a part of life and you come to being used to maneuvering in it. Sledding is typically an activity reserved for the weekends.  You needed a solid ten inches to cancel school and it better come all at once or you are out of luck.  Iowans are a hardened lot, made from a fabric that is not found in all states.  Then, in second grade, I moved to Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  This sleepy, small city is located in the boot-heel region of Southeast Missouri and snuggled up close to the imposing Mississippi River.  It truly is a beautiful place and I enjoyed being raised there but God forbid the weatherman calls for snow.  It's an all out riot.  The supermarkets are devoid of all staples.  The aisles for bread, milk, eggs, etc., are destroyed, literally all that is left is one tanned loaf of ciabatta that looks as if everyone has been squeezing it for freshness. 

After that blizzardly half inch of snow arrives it's as if peoples brains fall out.  Driving becomes a nightmare, with people smashing into each other all over.  Chains are put on tires as they are deemed necessary for driving up what is normally a gentle hill.  It's not as if the weather people are any better.  Many of us like to act as if the weathermen are simply in it for the ratings, I'm not convinced this is the case.  More likely is that they are weathermen and any chance to add an extra couple of facetime minutes on tv the better.  What was once the proving ground for want to be anchors, the weatherman is now part of our societal fabric.  At my office we spend more time discussing what Katie Horner (weather lady who keeps popping out kids) thinks is going down, than the report (I don't even know the anchors name) about last nights Amber Alert.  I mean hell, traffic and weather are reported like five times in a thirty minute newscast.

Speaking of weathermen, my wife thinks she is also capable of filling this role.  If any of you know anyone who has worked construction then you are aware that working outside classifies you as a meteorologist.  The five years she spent looking in the sky why everyone else was working has managed to sow a seed in her brain that she can tell what the weather is going to do based on clouds.  She also has a tendency to lose her mind before a snow storm.  You see my wife is a teacher so a snow day is also an day off for her.  It's not as if having, all federal holidays, Catholic holidays, two weeks for Christmas, over a week for Easter, and nearly two and a half months for summer are enough, she needs her snow days.  When the talks starts of an impending snow my wife turns to the news but not just one broadcast, she needs the 4:30, 5:00, 6:00, 9:00, and 10:00 to get all the information she needs.  If she could have the scroll on the bottom of school closing feed directly into her phone, she would.  When the news finally comes down that school is canceled, she quickly puts to rest the worry of travel and bolts out the door to hang out with friends, leaving me to think up things to do with the kids now that they want to stay up late.

My work is no better.  With the advance of online meetings, skype, instant messaging, and access to company networks virtually,  this place becomes a ghost town.  While I take it as a point of pride to drive in, and to be honest, I can't get much done with my kids harassing me, you would think the roads are impassable and everyone is stuck.  Whatever that case, you can do sweet donuts in the parking lots on days like this and monster e-brake turns and have nothing to fear. 

Maybe all this new technology and awareness, plus the 24hour news and weather has made us safer and more prepared causing less accidents and increased productivity.  What hasn't changed in the sheer joy of looking out the window and seeing a thick blanket of snow coating everything and realizing you don't even have to hit snooze.