A snow day

"When I no longer thrill to the first snow of the season, I'll know I'm growing old." Lady Bird Johnson

With Lady Bird's logic, I can declare myself still of a youthful spirit.

It snowed here Friday, beginning first as freezing rain - dreadful, dangerous ice - and ending as a soft blanket of white. Huge, billowy flakes swirled like tufts of cotton, plucked and tossed from Heaven.

Remember snow days when you were a kid? I would sit with rapt attention, listening to the local AM radio station's mix of tinny-sounding hits from the likes of Sonny and Cher interspersed with rather poorly produced commercials for Main Street businesses ... just waiting for - oh, wait, did the DJ just say it? Yes! No school today!

And back to bed I would go.

Nowadays, it's less dramatic: the automated call came shortly after 5 a.m. Friday from the assistant superintendent. I was awake anyway, doing my own assessment of the weather and deciding whether I would venture out into it for the day. No school, he said. I didn't even bother to wake my son. Instead, I logged in and worked from home. My husband was off work that day and so we were settled in for whatever Mother Nature dished out.

It wasn't officially a snow day for me, but I still enjoyed watching the weather take its turn from the comfort of my warm home, with everyone safely under the same roof.

I had picked up a few groceries the night before amid the utter madness at the grocery store. Empty shelves and long lines. What is this magical concoction people make out of bread and milk in the face of a snowstorm?

Me? I went in for beer and toilet paper, the true necessities if you are snowed in.

When the snow came Friday afternoon and into the evening, I cooked a big pasta meal and made sweet snacks. Content with full bellies, we watched the snow come down and lend a lustrous glow to the outside Christmas lights.

Saturday, we slept in and shook off any cabin fever by running errands once the roads had cleared. Early this morning, we were reminded to take it slow again, thanks to a round of freezing rain and sleet. A lazy Sunday of napping and football viewing ensued. Tonight, a cozy fire crackles.

Tomorrow will bring us back to reality: the hum and rhythm of work and school will resume, while the fevered countdown to Christmas buzzes about.

For the rest of the evening, however, I will savor the slowed pace the last few days have brought me ... all thanks to that first magical snow day.