Snow Day

It's been many years since I had kids to get out of the house in the morning. I did everything I could to make the transition as smooth as possible, smooth being a relative term here. Homework and projects were done and in backpacks, along with gym clothes and musical instruments, as needed. Outfits were chosen, although with three girls, that in no way guaranteed there wouldn't be a fashion melt-down occasionally. Or weekly. Or at a certain age, daily. Despite all these preparations, it was still a lot of work to get everyone out the door on time. So when we heard the announcement (in those olden days we listened to the radio for closings) we were all excited. Even when the girls were young and loved school, the prospect of a day playing in the snow, making cookies and watching a movie was irresistible--to all of us. I was reminiscing about those days last night because the forecast was for a "wintry mix," which I think is nicely vague. It allows the weather forecasters to cover a lot of possibilities without threat of contradiction. It was a serious mix this time, and my husband's company offered employees the opportunity to telework today. He worked, but it got me thinking--what would a snow day look like for me? Extra sleep, for one thing. I'm not the kind of person who can roll over and go back to sleep endlessly in the morning, but after a shower and breakfast, I'd head to my recliner, my cozy spot. It's my favorite place to read and nap. I'd curl up with a great book and read and doze. And doze and read for variety. I'd spend time watching the snow accumulate. The beauty of everything covered with a sparkling layer of snow and the quiet it causes is serene. It's best when no one's out driving yet, and before the noise of the snowplows spoils it. Although, when I hear the plows approaching, if I close my eyes and concentrate really hard, the noise turns into the bells on the horses pulling old-time sleighs along the road. Lunch has to be tomato soup and grilled cheese. Campbell's tomato soup, of course. I will probably enjoy this comfort food watching a movie, definitely an old favorite. I'm not going to take the chance of spoiling the day with a movie that, no matter how many great reviews it's gotten, disappoints me. Maybe Under the Tuscan Sun, which always makes me dream of possibilities, or Arsenic and Old Lace (the Cary Grant version, since I recently found out there was another with Tony Randall that would have to improve to be awful), because even though I can recite most of the dialogue along with the actors, it always makes me laugh. A short nap and more reading. Take out for dinner--the roads should be cleared enough by now to let a delivery car through, probably with another movie. Maybe popcorn. However I didn't get that day of bliss. Today's wintry mix turned out to be several hours of rain. A snow day isn't a snow day without a heap of snow. A girl's got to have some standards.