Another Snow Day

        Another snow day…(a holiday from teaching and learning at school due to difficult weather)  Since we just had one recently, I was not quite as excited this time.  I was determined to get some things done and enjoy some time outdoors in the snow.

        Most of my plans to be outdoors went awry.  I planned to spend the day sledding with some children from church (Plan A), but my husband was worried about the watery mess.  Even though we had a lot of snow, it was the watery kind that felt like an ice-water-filled sponge when you squeezed it.  I succumbed to his wishes and went for Plan B, which was to help him shovel the driveway.  He got out there and did the job while I was busy with another chore. He did not tell me and did not wait for me. (I guess he did not realize that I really wanted to help.) Thus, “snow day” was having little meaning for me.  I was stuck inside. 

        Visiting a sick friend in the hospital was what I planned for the afternoon.  She was so sick that I could only stay a few minutes and kept falling asleep when I tried to talk to her.  I decided to leave. I had hoped to spend the afternoon with her. Even though it was not an outdoor plan, it did not go as I hoped either.

        However, the walk to and from the car to the hospital and a short walk in an old neighborhood provided just the experience that I craved.  My boots were keeping my feet dry as I sloshed through the snow.  The cold snow, now water, that had melted, chilled my feet as I walked but my socks and feet were dry.  The wet, moist air made me wake up and pay attention to my surroundings.  It was a beautiful mid-afternoon in March and I was walking, not inside a school building or around the house; but outside and breathing fresh, clean air!  That chilly, tingly feeling that makes you realize that you are happy to be alive came over me!  Kicking wet snow can be a hoot!