A Snow Day

When I was a first year teacher, I once made a terrible mistake: I assumed that we would have a snow day. The weather report was calling for snow and it seemed like a sure bet, so instead of preparing for school the next day, I went to a concert and stayed out way too late. 

As you can probably guess, that snow day never materialized. I went to school underprepared and overtired. It was a mistake that I would never make again.

Now when a potential snow day is on the horizon, I don't flush ice cubes down the toilet or put a white crayon in the freezer or wear my pajamas backwards and inside out. No, I have a much better tactic than any of those superstitions. I over-prepare. 

I do everything I possibly can to prepare for school the next day. I pick out my outfit. Pack my lunch. Finish up any lesson plans or grading. You get the idea. The best part of this plan is that even if I don't end up with a snow day, at least my morning goes smoothly, which still feels like a small win.

When I heard the rumblings of significant snowfall this weekend, I set to work on my plan, tidying up the house, finishing laundry, and most daunting of all, completing revisions on a journal article I'm working on. I got it all done and the snow day was called the night before!

I spent today thinking about what a joy snow days are. I have been in schools as a student or a teacher for forty years and snow days never cease to be an unexpected delight! They feel different than weekends and scheduled vacation days, I think, because they are a true gift of time. There is nothing to do (especially when I've followed my snow day preparation protocol) because what I was supposed to be doing was cancelled!

Today I did many delightful things, like working on a new puzzle, baking chocolate chip cookies, reading under a blanket, cooking and eating meals in an unhurried fashion, and taking a snowy evening walk.

While I will never bet on a snow day, when I do get one, I will never take it for granted.