Snow day!

There are few things in life as perfect as a snow day. You probably don't remember, because a snow day is a thrill for the school-aged, and if you are reading this, you're probably- how shall I say this - old. Let me take you back....

1. It's getting cold. Stupid English project that I was assigned two weeks ago is due tomorrow. GOD, I hate English! What's it even about? Two weeks is a long time to remember a stupid English assignment, and that was when John made out with Christina at that party I couldn't go to because I was grounded because I skipped fifth period to hang out in the bathroom with Sandra and Kim and talk about what a skank Elisa is. Damn, it's cold as hell in here! I hate my parents for not turning the heat high enough!

2. Spent all night in front of the tv watching reruns and talking on the phone, except for when mom made me empty the dishwasher AND do my own laundry AND take out the garbage. I hate her! The news kept breaking in to my shows to tell about a storm system coming down from the North Pole or somewhere. It's going to be really cold tomorrow, with sleet and snow and ice even! They call it 'winter mix'. Maybe that's what we should call the sophomore dance! We could all dress up in white and eat snow cones (spiked with Everclear?) and set up little sleds on the gym floor. We could have an ice sculpture shaped like my English teacher and watch it melt like the Wicked Witch of the West - COOL!

3. The news is saying it's going to be TREACHEROUS tomorrow morning! They are saying DANGEROUS CONDITIONS will exist for the morning commute, and that travel will be HAZARDOUS and that you could have a wreck and DIE!!!! This is FANTASTIC!!! Could it be? Dare I dream?

4. The IDIOT school district said they will wait until 5:45 in the morning to decide whether or not to have a snow day. GOD!!! They are so stupid!!!!!!!!! You could DIE if you go to school tomorrow! Do they want you to DIE? I hate school! Brenda says she bets they will have school, because they always do, even if you could die. She wants to know if she can copy the essay part of the stupid English project in 1st period so that she can turn it in 3rd. I'd better get started.

5. Kenny called. I love him so much!!!! He said that if we have a snow day he'll get Brandon to drive him to the park and we can meet up at the train trestle. I'll call Scheleen so that Brandon will have someone to be with. She likes him ok. Snow day! Snow day! GOD, I hope we have a snow day! I won't hope so that I won't jinx it, and then I'll be surprised if we do have one. I hope we do, I hope we do! Snow day! Maybe I will pray tonight...

And then, you wake up, tired and cranky, a unique feeling of dread and resignation flooding your senses even before you open your eyes. You hit snooze and lie there, listening to the sounds of...nothing. A strange silence mutes the normal morning noises. Your nose is cold, but you are warm under the covers. You shuffle out to the living room and turn on the tv. Look at all the school closings! They show each school district on the screen for 15 seconds, and you have just missed yours, because they are listed alphabetically. Ellis ISD. Erath ISD. Esher ISD. Ferris Beuller ISD. They crawl by. It's cold on the floor, in the dark, the only light coming from the TV, flickering, otherworldly, unnatural. Jackson ISD. Jarret ISD. Jim Jones ISD. Delicious, unabated hope! Fervent anticipation! Millford ISD. Monroe ISD. Muppets ISD. You go to the window, unable to sit still, one eye on the tv. You pull back the curtains, lift the shade, look outside. Oh! So Beautiful! Black akimbo tree limbs shimmering silver against a sky slowly brightened from black to gray. In front of your eyes, the birth of a new day. Brown grass covered with ice, big flakes of snow flying sideways, and everything so quiet, wrapped in cotton, glossed and glazed. It's awesome, but not in the way you usually use the word. You breathe a tiny wreath on the window.

And then an epiphany, quiet but jarring, breaking into this moment: there is more to the world, to life, to us all, than just ourselves. There are miracles out there everyday, and sometimes all we have to do to witness them is just...shut up for a minute.

"Look baby, look! That's us! No school today! It's a snow day!"

You run to your mom and throw yourself in her arms, and the two of you do a crazy tango, in the tv light, in the magnificent ecstacy of a world that offers unexpected possiblity and optimism, even in darkness.

Snow days are the shit.

******************** BLOG BONUS: Snow Joke!!!!*******************

What did one snowman ask the other snowman?

Does it smell like carrots to you?

Get it?!