Snow Day!

I've had lovely things whispered in my ear.  My heart has filled to bursting at the sound of my sons laughing.  Ode to Joy is exactly that. But is there any sound sweeter, any words more seductive than "snow day"? Okay, maybe so, but uttered together, they are definitely way up there!  A snow day is a pocket of time outside of ordinary time, a mythical creature--as real in the moment as your own being--to play and hang out with that vanishes by nightfall (this is why snow day calories don't count, so go ahead and have that extra cup of hot chocolate).  It's an 'extra' day, a handful or two of hours tucked in a box, tied with a gaudy bow....a gift you couldn't count on but can now run through your fingers, fondle, taste and savor (I'll grant you this is said by someone whose children are grown up and needn't be shuttled to hills for sledding, or snow day playdates).

Like a little kid myself, I woke up at 4:30, checked the window--nothing. At 5:30 the TV station announced that the local school district was closed; Linda is training this week for a temporary job and they said if the local district closed her training would be rescheduled (alas, for Saturday). I kept dialing into work,waiting to hear the magic words....at 6:10, the message changed and it was music to my ears!!! So as I write, sipping my strong dark coffee, I can see snow falling steadily, already covering the porch and road. We watched a pair of chipmunks racing back & forth between our black walnut and the neighbors' stone wall, their tails straight up as they busily gathered something. We had breakfast by the fire watching the birds at the feeders.  My plans for the day ? Soft, fleecy clothes, favorite snowy day lunch (okay, it's a dubious sounding thing, a casserole of elbow macaroni, tomato juice and cheddar cheese...but trust me; it's delicious if most decidely not 'heart-healthy', which is why it's relegated to snowy day fare, and enjoyed only a couple of times a year), knitting (by next weekend I may just have a shawl!), reading, writing, Stash Lemon-Ginger tea, a nap with Linda by the fire later since we were awake so early. Come on...say it with me, soft and slow...."snow       day".