A Vintage Vantage:

'I never eat December snowflakes. I always wait until January.'

Lucy Van Pelt

As an adult, one of the things I love about a snow day is the feelings they evoke.  Sure, now they can be a bit of a pain, the shoveling, driving through it if I have to go out or to work. But now matter how I spend them, they still remind me of those early winter mornings as a kid.

Those who live in places that get a lot of snow understand that mentally, snow days begin the second we hear a storm is on the way.  As soon as we hear the weather, we start getting excited about a free day from school.  As much as we hate getting up early for school, many of us get up even earlier on snow days to listen to the radio.  Before we all had e-mail, it was usually local radio stations that first spread the good news that school was cancelled. 

After jumping for joy, usually as our mother groaned that it wasn't 'that bad' out there, we usually headed back to bed.  We didn't sleep though, we just lay their, waiting for it to be ok to get up, scoff down breakfast and head outside.

We put on our long johns, our parka. then the toques, mittens and winter boots. It didn't really matter, no matter how much we wore, we would be soaked when we got back home later in the day.  Snowball fights, snow angles and snow forts were always a part of the day.  So was just lying in the snow, looking up at the sky as the snowflakes quietly fell above us.

Before too long, the wetness usually turned to freeze and our mittens got stiff and our feet got cold.  We headed back home, just as our mother started calling us for dinner.  If we were lucky, we had something hearty and hot.  We hoped for beef stew or hot dogs and beans, but tomato soup and grilled cheese was welcomed as well.   

I miss those snow days.  I still get them, but the childlike excitement I felt when I was in school is mostly gone.  Maybe tomorrow, after I shovel, I'll make a grilled cheese.