blizzard

I grew up in northern Ohio, where the words "lake effect snow" ruled my school aged years. I was frequently glued to the radio (am I dating myself here? yes, my school age years were pre-internet) waiting to hear that my prayers were answered, and "Youngstown Public and Parochial Schools" were closed. This did not happen a lot. Being from the snow belt, school did not close for 3-4 inches, like it does here in Cincinnati. Yes, us northerners are better equipped with snow plows and salt, but we are also made of heartier stock. I walked in my little plaid skirt, rain or shine, unless there was the rumored 8 inches of snow. (The word on the grade school street was that the school would not close unless there was 8 inches, the temperature was zero or below, or we had ice.) I will say there were many a cold snowy day that we still had school despite all of my prayers.

The best "snow day" ever was in third grade, when the pipes at my grade school froze up, thus cracking all of the tile floors. We got to be off a whole week. It was awesome.

Anyway, the weather gods had been predicting major snow storms here in southern Ohio all winter, with little to show for their predictions. I would frequently go to bed, just like 20 tyears before, saying a final prayer that the snow would come, and close everything. I guess I didn't want to accept that adults did not get snow days, and even if they did, the government rarely closes, so I would have to go to work.

This time I didn't even pray...and the snow came, and kept coming, and is still coming now. While the 10 inches we have here wouldn't be quite as incapacitating up north, its still a lot of snow. Everything is closed...all malls, most churches, pretty much everything that there is to do. I must admit that I'm kind of happy. I am sad that my run got cancelled, but forced relaxation is nice. SLH and I spent a quiet day together, watching basketball, making pancakes, listening to music and planning our vacation. See, adults should get snow days more often. They're good for the soul....

(and they give me time to update my blog!)