The Magic of a Snow Day

The Magic of a Snow Day

This past week we received our first major snowfall of the winter.
Schools and many workplaces were closed.

Ah! The snow day, even as an adult I can remember the feeling of anticipation that school might be closed. A feeling eclipsed only by that of Christmas or a birthday.
So It was truly a gift to be able to experience my daughters first snow day. As she woke I gently whispered schools closed. Her thin slits for eyes grew wide and a smile spread across her face. Then she dashed to the window to look outside. The pool is buried, she said. The snow had drifted up to the wall that surrounds the pool in our building's courtyard.

We had pancakes for breakfast (something usually reserved for Sundays.) And watched the weather report. During the morning I had some conference calls and work to complete. (courtesy of technology, many parents don't get snow days anymore)

Venture Out
After a late lunch enough was enough, it was time to get outside and enjoy the magic of the snow.

Our Courtyard and parking lot had been transformed into a white windswept tundra. We trudged along to our car stopping along the way to make some snowballs and snow angels.

The car was also transformed as well. The snow covered windows blocked out most of the light. Once the heat got kicking it was a warm and cozy snow cave.

Onto the sledding

We drove up to a park along Husdon Terrace. This is a local favorite spot for sledding. The bowel shaped park offers a wide variety of sledding profiles from short and steep to long gradual slopes to everything in between. The perimeter of the hills were dotted with snowman and other snow sculptures.

We made a number of runs down each of the hills, had a snowball fight, and then proceeded to make a snow fort and then some more sledding.

One of my favorite memories that day was when we lied on our backs looking up at the falling snow. We followed the flakes from as high as we could see all the way down to the ground. And on a few occasions, right onto our faces. There is something about falling snow that quiets everything down, including the soul. It is a peacefulness that I have only experienced while it is snowing.
I am grateful that I was able to share this day with the best person I could imagine. While the snow transformed our town into a winter wonderland, for a few hours it transformed this 40 year old back into a kid.