Sunday, March 1, 2009

In like a lion...

As my husband has been singing all morning... It's gonna snow-ho-ho right here in Dixie! All will be white overnight, it will be cold!

That nod to Rankin and Bass aside, I love that we are starting March with a few (predicted) inches of snow! While there is much to do and little time to do it at school over the next few weeks, I could really use a snow day.

Although my kids have had a "real" snow before, I am pretty sure their memories are only vague. I am hopeful that we'll get at least 4 or 5 inches so that they can see the majestic beauty of a snow-covered world. It's supposed to start this evening and snow through the night, so tomorrow morning they SHOULD be able to experience that marvelous "ahhhhhhh" of waking to a blanket of white. There's something holy about it - almost like watching the ocean at night - nature's best stuff is healing and exciting and soothing, all at once.

I need to get the laundry caught up so that I can keep up with the wetness of kids-and-dog-in-the-snow. We really don't have appropriate snow gear, but neither did I as a kid. It's a great opportunity to learn to make do! I remember a March snow long ago on the east coast that kept us out of school for days. We had over a foot! Because we lived two blocks from the hospital, momma took in some fellow nurses who'd need to be able to get to work easily (the road crews were nonexistent) so we had extra playmates in our already playful neighborhood. There was a couple from Maine or some other seriously north state who lived a block behind us. I think he was an anesthesiologist, she a nurse. Anyway, they played with us to build a dozen or so snowmen - our "hitchhiker" made the local paper - and we were so amused to watch them cross-country ski to work (this was before Nordic Track, of course - none of us had ever SEEN cross-country skis!). Anyway, my point started out about clothes. We went through so many outfits - soaking ourselves to the core, running in to change, then repeating. Our parents, all medical professionals, insisted we stay dryish to prevent frostbite. Mercy.

Obviously I remember that, if only vaguely, as a valued childhood memory. I want to help my little people create some images like that in their worlds. I want my students to have something to WRITE about after the stinking PASS writing exam. I want a day at home to enjoy my house, my family, myself.

Let it snow!