Sarah Nigbor

I am in the wrong business. Just kidding, but I am the only person in my household who doesn’t get a snow day today (I’m writing this on Monday). My husband is a teacher, so he is about as giddy as the kids over the prospect of an unexpected day off (when there isn’t virtual learning).

These days we get automated phone calls and emails telling us about snow days. In “the olden days,” as Carolina calls my childhood, we had to park ourselves in front of the TV or listen to WEVR for school closings. I remember sitting in front of the TV as the schools scrolled across the screen on WCCO. I would wait in breathless anticipation, my heart rate increasing as “Redwood Falls” appeared on the screen. That far away town west of the Twin Cities always had snow days. I suppose since it sits in the middle of flat farm fields it’s susceptible to blizzard conditions. After Redwood Falls, surely River Falls would be listed next! Alas, this was usually not the case. I swear we almost never had snow days while the districts all around us did. It was absolutely deflating.

In 2018, my daughter had 13 snow days. Granted, that year we had nearly 100 inches of snow throughout the season. I felt like we were shoveling and plowing every day. The snow reached the top of my log swing that year and buried it completely. The walkway to our house was like a tunnel. I loved all the snow, but not the screaming kids bursting into my office (because it seemed like every snow day also fell on deadline day) to besiege me with sibling atrocities, such as Dawson eating the last piece of bread, Carolina looking at someone too long, or Ethan getting one more cheese puff than everyone else. God forbid they go bother Dad with these travesties. I believe that was also the year that we went through what seemed like cases of hot chocolate, most of which ended up slopped on my countertops. “But I promise if you let me make it myself, I won’t spill!” Ha!

On the rare occasion growing up we did have a snow day, the endless possibilities of what my day would entail left me quivering with excitement. I could read tucked in under cozy blankets. I could go sledding in the field. My best friend Meghan and I could build a snow fort and snowmen and snow angels. I could help Grandpa snow blow the driveway and run screaming as he directed the spray toward me. I could watch the Price is Right and Grandpa would play dominoes or “654” with me after lunch. The world was my oyster on those days. We all need a snow day once in a while.