Let's Talk About...Snow Days

Ok. Snow laid a thick coat over Niwot this last weekend and reminded me of the excitement of "snow days."

Whatever happened to "snow days?" Remember those days when you would wake up to a blanket of snow and listen to the radio or watch the T.V. at 6:00 a.m. for "school closures?" We would huddle in the darkness of dawn desperately hoping they would name our school.

We waited to know if we had to go get ready for school. We would cheer when we came to "St. Vrain Valley Schools." Sadly, that doesn't happen so much anymore.

Now there are "online learning days." One of the "gifts" of covid that keeps on giving.

What a thrill it was to hear your school called out on T.V. It meant either running back to bed or pulling on your snow pants to go outside and have a snowball fight. It meant grilled cheese and tomato soup. It meant getting out of that test you had been dreading. It meant watching T.V. all day. Of course, for people like my sister, it meant working a little harder on that essay that was due that day.

Are snow days really a thing of the past? Doesn't everyone need a little unexpected joy now and then?

Today, it means shoveling the stuff off the sidewalk, firing up your computer and logging in for a lesson that you really can't pay much attention to because you are looking out the window at that beautiful snow like a lonely puppy. It is begging you to come outside and play. "'Do you want to build a snowman? Come on, let's go and play! I never see you anymore.' This snow won't last!"

And why are there no snow days for work? I mean, they might say not to come into the office, but do they really mean it? Not really.

It is a day that separates the working men from the boys and the women from the girls, so to speak. Who will climb into their four-wheel drive vehicle and brave the ice and snow to get to work? It is not for the fainthearted, I assure you. Just look at all those massive trucks stuck in the ditches by the side of the roads. They are usually the ones riding your tail moments before while you pedal along in your bald-tired 1980 Toyota Corolla. Who is the winner here?

We all deserve a day off now and then. If we can blame the weather, so much the better. It beats taking a sick day.

So, bring back "snow days." Light up the fireplace, fire up the T.V., open a book, grab the hot chocolate, and get comfy. The snow and the day won't last for long.