Tag: Snow Day

White Weekend

Michigan got hit with it’s first real winter storm this weekend. It was no joke. It started Friday afternoon after I got to work. In the short couple hours I was there, the snow accumulated quickly. It didn’t take long for patients to start cancelling their appointments for that evening.

Believe it or not, despite the 6-8 inches of snow that had already fallen, there were still a couple patients who were going to drive in. The problem was that our techs were having trouble getting in. We ended up having to cancel everyone for that night. This was probably a good thing, because I got to go home early.

My wife didn’t want me driving in the storm, but I certainly didn’t want to sleep at work. So I ventured out and my normal hour and ten minute drive wound up being about 3 hours. The drive was treacherous. There were cars flipped in ditches, semi-trucks jackknifed, flares surrounding cars that had stalled, and many freeway closures. It was a white knuckle drive and I was glad to finally be home.

Saturday, the kids and I took advantage of the snow and tried out their new sled.

I pulled them all over the yard and up and down the street. It didn’t take long before my copy cat (Andrew) wanted to pull his sister in the sled. I really didn’t think he’d be able to, but he did!

Daisy was having a blast in the snow and kept trying to bite the cord we were pulling the sled with. Naturally, Ella had to pull Andrew as well.

It was very cold out, so I had to really beg them to come inside. They didn’t want to, but I promised hot cocoa, so they came in.

Sam was supposed to work Saturday, but all the patients had cancelled. So we enjoyed an evening at home. Ella decided that she would give us a spa day.

Sam got her nails done first. As I chuckled about how hard it was going to be to get that polish off, Ella informed me that I was next!

I still have nail polish in my cuticles! 

Before bed, we made an obstacle course in the living room for them to burn off all their extra energy. 

Sam was teaching Ella how to tuck and roll. She stood on the foam nugget (above), touched her toes, tucked her head, and they rolled over. She wanted me to try it. Three times I did it and failed miserably each time. My wonderful and loving wife took video and posted on Facebook for all to see. It is not my proudest moment and I look like hell! I will NOT be sharing here.

All the running out in the snow did tucker Daisy out. I had to laugh as I sat on the couch next to her and I looked over and saw this:

My brother and his friend had tickets to see the Madonna show in Detroit last night. He drove up on Saturday night and stayed at a hotel. He stopped by Sunday and hung out with the kids. They were so excited to see their Uncles. At one point, Andrew kept bringing books to my brother to read. He’d read it right the first time and then (when asked to read it again) would alter the story with humorous comments. 

Any time I get to see my brother is treasured. We need to take a trip down to see him in Ohio this summer.

Sunday Night, the Detroit Lions beat the LA Rams in their first playoff win sin 32 years. I wrote about this in the previous blog, but had to share this. Coincidentally, the Detroit Free Press posted a picture of the temperature in the little town of Hell, MI on Sunday night.

Go Lions!!!

No More Snow Days??!!

Flashback: A winter day in the late 1970’s. At 6:30am, the phone rings. It is our neighbor, who works for the school district. She informs my mom or dad that school has been cancelled for today. We know before it even hits the TV or radio! It’s a SNOW DAY!!

Back to today – 2020.

I read a New York Times article today that echoed what I had read in a few other articles from our local newspapers and TV stations. The “Snow Day” is probably a thing of the past, thanks to COVID-19 and the pandemic!

I wish I could say that this was not true, but it looks like that is exactly the case. Thanks to the schools being forced to close to “flatten the curve,” and the technology for remote learning, there is no reason for school to not proceed on days when the weather is bad. Snow days will be replaced with virtual learning.

I do understand that going virtual solves the problem of adding on days to the end of the school year, because of too many snow days. No kid wants to have to go to school later than they have to. However, I think that by making every snow day a virtual day robs kids of certain things that they may only get to do on snow days.

I look back fondly on the snow days of my childhood! There were so many things to do!

Sledding

It was always fun to gather up some kids and find a good hill to sled down. Every so often, someone’s mom would pack up the car and kids from the neighborhood and take us to a HUGE hill somewhere! These were good times!!!

Snowmen

When the snow was “good packing”, you could bet that almost every kid was out on their front lawn making a snowman! I remember looking for all the perfect things for his eyes, arms, and such. We had an old beat up hat we would put on ours. It was always dirty, too, because it would pick up all the grass and twigs that were on the lawn.

Forts

Again, if the snow was the right texture, you could go out and build one hell of a snow fort! I have blogged about this in the past. We had stuff to make blocks and build the forts with. We really had some amazing snow forts. I can guarantee that every snow fort I ever built was built on a snow day!!

Snowball Fights

If you’re building a fort, you know you are gearing up for war! There is bound to be one amazing snowball fight! You’d stock that fort up with as many snowballs as you could make in preparation for your enemies. Who didn’t love a good snowball fight?!

Skating

While I never learned to ice skate, I know many people who did. Before I moved to Warren, there was a pond that was next to our house. When it would freeze up in the winter, people skated on the ice. I would go out in my snow boots and slide all over the ice. What a blast!!!

Snow Angels

Whether you are a child or an adult, there is just something fun about flopping down in the snow and making a snow angel! I am SO looking forward to doing this with my daughter!!

It makes me sad to think that some kids will never know the fun and excitement of getting a snow day. It seems that technology has robbed children of yet another thing.

Perhaps before banning snow days completely, districts could allow for one or two days for snow days? Teachers could use the day to adjust lesson plans, or something like that…. I pray that snow days don’t vanish like a sledder at the bottom of a hill….

Maybe I will just have to make it a point to “call in sick” for my kids so they can enjoy a good snow day in the future…..