anything can happen on a snow day. as a kid it was my favorite thing ever year. i would sit in front of the tv watching the weather channel for hours. eyes glued to the screen, noting Jim Cantori's every move, hanging onto every word, like icicles clinging to tree limbs. i was (and still am) the most optimistic snow day person there ever was. my mom and my best friend katie reign as the two most pessimistic. the weather man could've told me that it was going to rain cows and i would've believed him. i wanted to be a weather girl growing up, but then i realized that i hated science. i had a drill, a routine to prepare for a blizzard (since we get those allll the time here right?). i would set out my ski bibs, boots, socks, scarf, hat, jacket, gloves (the waterproof hardcore kind, for the purpose of snowball fight of course). my entire plan was deviated with the intentions of waking up at the butt crack of dawn, doning my snow gear, and looking out the window to see a white blanket draped over my neighborhood. the worst mornings consisted of nothing but rain puddles in my backyard and clear streets. nothing is better than school cancellations. i can remember sitting in front of the tv watching the closings scroll accross the bottom of the screen. i developed a bitterness towards heyward & madison counties in western north carolina, barely over the state line. they always got out of school and got more snow. i used to say they stole greenville's snow because they would get it all and we would be left with front yards of nothing bu dead grass to wake up to.
snow days are still a big deal to me. even though i dont play outside all day, only stopping to eat lunch and dinner, it's still a somewhat magical day. everything and everyone stops. it reminds me of being in a snowglobe. secluded from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. people dont go to work, businesses and schools close down, we are confined to our houses and surrounding streets. we get to flee from the real world for one day. it's as if it goes to sleep or keeps its distance from us. even if just for a day. we can sleep and watch movies and go outside in the snow. it's quite outside and all that can be heard is the laughter belonging to children on sleds. this will be my last snow day in college. its a tradition that we play outside and take pictures. the boys pelt us with snowballs that leave bruises that will be present for days. our noses resemble rudpolphs and our hands turn a purplish-blue.
the evening before a possible snow day is almost like Christmas for the South. we scurry to the store, stocking up on bread and milk (also known as pizza bites & coke). the result will most likely be a "dusting" as the weather man likes to call it. i hate that word. it's painful, almost evil in a sense. it robs children of joy and hope. stupid dustings. we will be lucky to gain an inch. im pretty sure our school wouldnt close if it was on fire.
there are no guarantees. no promises. just uncertainties and possibilities. we just hope and believe that maybe just once they weather man will get it right. sometimes i think we want to believe something so bad, we'll believe a lie, if it makes us happy, even for just a minute. im glad that God is not like the weatherman, robbing children of joy and giving false-hope, that often leads to a let-down. I never have to wonder if He will pull through or if He is right. He is a guarantee. 100%. wouldnt that suck to wake up every morning & wonder if what God told us was the truth or a lie? if we could trust Him and depend on His words? God is not the weatherman, and for that i am thankful.
this is my last snow day in college. i would like one, just one more. a day spent on the front lawn taking pictures and having snowball fights. piling into someone's den and watching movies while wrapped up in blankets upon blankets. pajamas and slippers. coffee and junk food. sometimes it's fun to be 6 years old again & hopeing for a snow day. if we got snow all of the time, like the people up North, we wouldnt appreciate it like we do. those people take it for granted and dont know how lucky they are.
for tonight though, all that hangs in the air is anticipation.
Deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder, Where its all white as snow. Running through the field where all my tracks will be concealed.
-red hot chillipeppers
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