Snow Day

Today was a wintery, messy day in Milwaukee. In addition to the three or so inches of snow that fell, sleet and freezing rain came down on us as well, creating some very hazardous driving conditions. When I clicked on the morning news this morning, I found that nearly all of the school districts in the area were announcing closures and many local businesses were following suit. Grace's day care was one of the few in the area that remained open, and since I work at the hospital and sickness doesn't know (or care) that the roads are icy, we ventured out into the nastiness. Aaron's company was open so he had to report to work, too.

I was a little bummed that we didn't get to take part in the snow day today. I remember having plenty of sick days as I was growing up. I always knew that school would be closed when I woke up in the morning and could hear my dad outside, clearing the driveway with the snowblower before he left for work. Those days were wonderful, especially as I got older. My parents always had to work despite the cruddy weather, so my younger sister and I were left at home to sleep in, watch The Price is Right and soap operas, and lounge around in our jammies all day. It was like a special, unexpected vacation, right in the middle of the school year. Good stuff.

So, memories like that were on my mind as I slowly made the drive in to work this morning, trying desperately not to skid into the cars in front of me on the highway. I thought of how nice it would be to be stranded at home with my little family, eating Christmas cookies and watching movies all day long.

The weather continued to worsen as the day wore on, and the doctors at the hospital were hurrying from appointment to appointment to get everyone out and home before things got really bad. I found that my last appointment ended a full hour before it was supposed to, so I headed home early. As I was getting ready to leave, I got a call from Aaron, telling me that his office was closing early and that he would swing by to pick up Grace from day care early.

So, I got my snow day after all. All three of us were home much earlier than usual, and soon after we all arrived, we were curled up on the couch, snug and warm, watching Gracie's new favorite movie, Ratatouille, and relaxing together. This snow day was even better than the ones I remember from my youth.