Snow day
12/01/13 05:12
I don’t remember ever having a snow day when I was a child in school. I’m sure that they occurred, but it must not have been quite as big a deal to me. We did live in a town where the wind blows a lot and the snowfall isn’t that dramatic. I remember days when the kids who rode the bus stayed with their host homes in town and I remember other days when the buses left school early to get kids home before a major storm made travel difficult. But I also have clear memories of completing my paper route and then heading off to school when the temperature was colder than -20 degrees Fahrenheit.
When our kids were in school, we loved snow days. They were a break from the routine for the whole family. But I also have great sympathy for those who have to make the decisions about canceling school. I really don’t like it when the job falls to me to make a decision about cancelling or postponing a church meeting when the weather turns harsh. We have cancelled worship twice since I have been serving this congregation. Both times, the city police were advising no travel within the city. Both times I ended up driving into the church to make sure that the building was all right during the storm.
So we had a snow day yesterday. It wasn’t yet snowing when I went in to work, but by 9:00 or so, the sleet was turning to steady snowfall. A couple of small meetings that were easy to reschedule were changed to free up the morning. School was cancelled for the day so our preschool was quiet. We worked in the office until noon and then sent everyone home a little bit later. I stopped by the hardware store to pick up some supplies for home repairs and headed home.
The snowfall was lovely. It was relatively cold and the snow was light and powdery. We got about four inches at home and I heard that the wind was gusting out on the prairies. The Highway Patrol has issued a no travel advisory for the Interstate starting at Rapid City and extending for 70 miles.
We had a lovely supper and turned on the porch light to see if the snow was still falling. It was a good day for making a few home repairs, for reading and for a bit of work on the computer.
Some of my neighbors were having a bit of trouble with the snowy roads. There were a few who shoveled their driveways, but I decided to leave that task until this morning. On neighbor up the hill gave up trying to get his car into his driveway. He left it parked on the street, which we try very hard to avoid because it makes it difficult for the snowplow. He can be forgiven. This is his first winter here since moving from Austin Texas. It takes a bit of nerve to keep your speed up as you head up the hill and turn into your driveway. After a few years, the maneuver becomes second nature. I remember giving our kids a bit of help when they were learning to drive. Tex is either gonna get used to living here or someday he’ll head back to a place where it is warmer in the winter.
It was a lovely day and I snuggled into bed a bit early with a good book. Nothing like reading about winter in Wiseman, Alaska to make our weather seem positively mild. Still, a snow day had been a lovely treat in a very busy life.
I am, however, still a pastor, so, as has happened before, the phone rang just after I had dozed off and I got up, got dressed, put on my parka and hopped into the pickup truck to go be with a family with a member in the hospital as they struggled with some difficult medical decisions. The crisis passed, at least temporarily, and I was back in my bed a little after 2 a.m. The roads hadn’t been bad at all. All of the major roads had been plowed and the street in front of our house wasn’t difficult to navigate in four-wheel drive.
The packed snow tracks from driving in and out of the driveway won’t be a problem when, a little later this morning, I tackle the job of getting the driveway cleared out. That is one thing about cold weather, the snow comes off of the driveway easily. And this snow is pretty light. But I will want to check things out at the hospital this morning and as long as I’m heading into town, I’ll swing by the church and make sure that everything is OK.
We need to have a “modified” snow day plan. We get snowed in except for families with genuine emergencies. Then we figure out how to not be snowed in. It reminds me of a story that the people in North Dakota used to love to tell. In the 1960’s they raised money to build a new church building. The old church was torn down and the new structure rose in its place. It was a simple, but very pretty building with a brick façade, stately columns in front and a tall steeple. There was a small choir loft and a basement with a nice kitchen, modern bathrooms and a large fellowship hall. They planned a spring dedication and were working at the church to do some final cleaning and preparations as a major spring blizzard bore down on the town. As the snow deepened outside it became clear that the building dedication was going to have to be postponed. Their out of town guests would not be able to get there. Even some of the ranch families might not make it. But the volunteers working at the church decided to keep working. They were preparing a big dinner in addition to a bit of touch-up painting and other chores. Around 10 p.m. they decided that they were snowed in at the church. No sense risking someone getting lost or frozen trying to get home. The workers spent the night in the church. When they told the story years later, they said that they only had to hike out twice to be snowed in – once for playing cards and a second time for some eggs for breakfast.
That’s the way we get snowed in. We can really get out when we need to. It wasn’t that way for the folks wintering above the Arctic Circle in 1924. The book I’m reading tells of winter that makes our conditions seem positively balmy by comparison.
When our kids were in school, we loved snow days. They were a break from the routine for the whole family. But I also have great sympathy for those who have to make the decisions about canceling school. I really don’t like it when the job falls to me to make a decision about cancelling or postponing a church meeting when the weather turns harsh. We have cancelled worship twice since I have been serving this congregation. Both times, the city police were advising no travel within the city. Both times I ended up driving into the church to make sure that the building was all right during the storm.
The snowfall was lovely. It was relatively cold and the snow was light and powdery. We got about four inches at home and I heard that the wind was gusting out on the prairies. The Highway Patrol has issued a no travel advisory for the Interstate starting at Rapid City and extending for 70 miles.
We had a lovely supper and turned on the porch light to see if the snow was still falling. It was a good day for making a few home repairs, for reading and for a bit of work on the computer.
Some of my neighbors were having a bit of trouble with the snowy roads. There were a few who shoveled their driveways, but I decided to leave that task until this morning. On neighbor up the hill gave up trying to get his car into his driveway. He left it parked on the street, which we try very hard to avoid because it makes it difficult for the snowplow. He can be forgiven. This is his first winter here since moving from Austin Texas. It takes a bit of nerve to keep your speed up as you head up the hill and turn into your driveway. After a few years, the maneuver becomes second nature. I remember giving our kids a bit of help when they were learning to drive. Tex is either gonna get used to living here or someday he’ll head back to a place where it is warmer in the winter.
I am, however, still a pastor, so, as has happened before, the phone rang just after I had dozed off and I got up, got dressed, put on my parka and hopped into the pickup truck to go be with a family with a member in the hospital as they struggled with some difficult medical decisions. The crisis passed, at least temporarily, and I was back in my bed a little after 2 a.m. The roads hadn’t been bad at all. All of the major roads had been plowed and the street in front of our house wasn’t difficult to navigate in four-wheel drive.
The packed snow tracks from driving in and out of the driveway won’t be a problem when, a little later this morning, I tackle the job of getting the driveway cleared out. That is one thing about cold weather, the snow comes off of the driveway easily. And this snow is pretty light. But I will want to check things out at the hospital this morning and as long as I’m heading into town, I’ll swing by the church and make sure that everything is OK.
That’s the way we get snowed in. We can really get out when we need to. It wasn’t that way for the folks wintering above the Arctic Circle in 1924. The book I’m reading tells of winter that makes our conditions seem positively balmy by comparison.