Snow Day

We've been waiting for snow all week. The news and weather channels have been calling for 2 inches here or 4 inches there, but everyday we wake up to no snow. The kids are anxious - is winter over? We didn't get to make a snowman! The last of the snow is gone - when is there going to be more? Baz runs to the hall closet every time we get ready to go somewhere and instead of shoes, emerges with snow boots. Belle asks if she needs both layers of her coat and gloves and a scarf to take to school. Several days at the beginning of the week, she has emerged from her school with her coat in her backpack, the weather looking more like April than snowy January. It's nice to see them and their friends excited for snow - someone has to be.

Around here, inclimate weather is much more than an inconvenience - it's a red alert, stay in and shut the doors until the all clear kind of emergency. People stock up on bread, milk, water, canned goods, shovels, and sidewalk salt like it's the coming of the Four Horsemen. For any kind of snow - even a dusting. You'd think living in a metropolitan area such as Northern Virginia would have prepared the people better for such occurrences. They have a Metro, people protest outside the Capital in all kinds of weather, fans go to Redskins' game without their shirts in December. But snow? Enough to turn even the most hard-core, oblivious to the fans sports owner into a little boy who got shoved into a snow pile while walking home. Snow is a bully, we're just the victims.

At least for those of us who drive a luxury car and have a stubborn streak a mile wide. For the rest of us, who either have the sense to know when to drive and when not to or 4-wheel drive, snow is no problem and we don't see what all the fuss is about.

But for now, we're curled up on the couch, having some quiet time. The kids are watching Shrek for the millionth time underneath blankets after lunch - resting up to venture out in the snow in the afternoon. Tom and I are doing various weekend chores inbetween helping Baz build a track for his Lego trains or setting Belle up with paper and crayons for her latest masterpiece. But after posting this, I'll probably turn the computer off and open up a new book I'm reading to get lost for a little while.

Snow days are great. If only we could have a few without snow sometimes.