A Snow Day is Still a Snow Day

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Last Saturday, before I even peered out my window, I knew it was snowing. I knew this because my friends, hungry for spring, were bemoaning the fact on Facebook.

Saturday's snow disappeared almost as soon as the precipitation stopped falling, leaving cold temperatures but no traces of white, even on the grass. Hopes for a snow day evaporated faster than the snow itself.

Some old habits die hard. After having spent so much of my life subject to school district schedules, when I see snow, I think snow day. Even if it's supposed to be spring. Even if school is in session for my daughter and my husband has gone off to work. If it's a gray day and snow is falling -- especially if it's Friday -- it's a snow day.

What does that mean, you may ask? It's like found time. I can be lazy. I can putter. Unless there are deadlines looming or I'm scheduled to teach, I can relax and declare a vacation day.

Which is exactly what I did when it snowed on the first day of spring. I played on Pinterest. I hung out on Facebook. I met a friend for lunch, took my laptop to Starbucks and answered some emails. I straightened up a few things around the house. I neither made nor worked my way through a to-do list. I capped the day off with dinner and a show with a long-time friend I don't see often enough.

Snow days are an odd mix of motivation and relaxation. With no to-do list, there's no pressure to stick to a set of tasks, and I can focus on whatever presents itself. It's almost like being on vacation.

This morning, I read that there's a possibility of snow (again) this weekend. As we saw on Saturday, spring snows can be ephemeral, which is not necessarily bad news to those hungry for spring.

But it certainly wipes out the possibility of a snow day.