Snow Days

At 6:15 this morning, I sat in my bed, enjoying the last few minutes of warmth before attacking the day. My eldest son poked his head in the room and said, "I think we might have a snow day."

"I didn't think it was supposed to snow that much."

"Seriously. The street is completely covered."

I immediately clicked on the television. A covered street in a Kentucky county that is more than 50% rural almost always foreshadows a snow day. Most Kentucky counties haven't made the same kind of investment in snow removal equipment as our neighbors to the north. I watched the closed counties scroll across the bottom of the screen. Sure enough, there we were. My son went happily back to bed, and I stared at the ceiling for while before I dozed off too.

I have mixed feelings about snow days. When you first see your district scroll across the list of closings, there is elation. For one glorious moment, you are a kid again with all your responsibilities postponed for a day. Then you remember you are an adult, and reality kicks in. (Unless it's the Monday after Super Bowl Sunday which should ALWAYS be a snow day.)

As nice as it was to snuggle back into my covers this morning instead of facing the single digit temps outside, I know I will pay for it later. That's how the system works. Pay me now, or pay me later.

Now, the kids are all resigned to being back in school. They've just had a long holiday break, and they aren't burned out. Actual learning would have happened today. Instead, they're all at home sleeping or playing video games. There isn't enough snow to do anything fun like sledding or snowman building. Really. There was just enough of a covering (combined with the frigid temps) to make the powers that be nervous about putting kids in those big yellow buses. The grass isn't even covered. Plus, it's too darned cold to go outside anyway.

Later, when we tack this day onto the end of the year, it will be June. June is beautiful in Kentucky...lots of sunshine...temps in the mid 70s. The kids are done by mid-May. It doesn't matter when the last official day is. They are done in mid-May. Everything after that is cat-herding.

One school day of actual learning traded for a cat-herding day in June.

Another universal truth...it's better to pay as you go because when you wait, you pay with interest.