Snow Day(s) and Why I Need Them

I grew up in a mountain town in Utah about 6500 feet above sea level. It is a beautiful valley nestled between mountains and hills. The summers were gorgeous and some days, when the valley 2000 feet below us was baking in the hot sun, we knew we were cooler. In a lot of ways. 

But the cold weather is a different story. It was Utah. In the mountains. So of course there was snow. A lot of snow. Sure, we got snow during the winter, but I remember a freak snow storm happening in June one year. There is a short, lovely window of fall that lasts 10 days or so, and then, bam, it’s winter. 

Snow man built by Christian, Gabe and Sunny, Dec. 2019. The stick scarf is my favorite.

Sometimes a mountain storm had the capability of dumping an entire foot of snow within hours. Sometimes it would snow all spring. I played softball and we always started the season in the gym because not only was it still freezing outside, but there was most likely still inches of frozen snow on the field. 

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow, if this is going to be who shovels my walk.

I am sure you are thinking by now, wow you probably had a ton of snow days then, right? WRONG. I went to school in this mountain valley from 1992-1998 and I remember exactly one canceled day of school because of snow. One. Blazing blizzard outside? Get your boots and backpack. White out? Maybe the snowplow can drop you off. Yer going to school. 

Throwback to the great New England winter of 2015. We had so many snow days, and so much snow that one day we decided to have a beach day. Five year olds are fun.

So now, living in New England where school is cancelled on the regular, making the year last well into June in some instances, I actually get as giddy as my kids when the announcement goes out. The kids had their first snow day this week and my heart soared and broke a little that I wasn’t there. I love the forced family time! No one can go anywhere! You all have to stay! (My love language is quality time if that gives you context for my excitement about forced family confinement.)

My daughter Sunny called me and told me about the exciting news. She said she was sad because I wasn’t there to make sticky buns, a tradition of a classic family recipe that involves overnight rolls and butter and brown sugar. (My other love language is butter.) I was sad too! But I got plenty of pictures and video the next morning of of the snow day hijinx and the completed snowman. 

The famous Snow Day sticky buns! (Another 2015 throwback, we had 109” in a month.)

Winter is not my favorite season. My heaven is going to be 74 degrees with a slight warm breeze. But these long winter months are easier to embrace when I really stop and see the fresh snow through the eyes of a nine year old. And even though it means potential school days happening during potential beach days in June, I would not wish away any of it. I wouldn’t appreciate those beach days without the mounds and mounds and mounds of snow.

For me, I need the cold and the heat. I need the negative temps and the stifling ones. I need the reminders that life is good because sometimes it’s bad. Sometimes I’m reminded through nature. Sometimes I’m reminded through actual hard times. But I know these seasons of life being hard is only because I’ve had so many, many good seasons. Snow days, beach days, and all the days in between, I’ll take them all. I’m grateful for this life. 

Look ma, no school!