magical.

last thursday at school, with the impending doom of iceageddon upon north texas, a co-worker described snow days as "magical." with no recollection of experiencing a snow day while growing up in utah (we have these things called plows and ice melt), i couldn't relate to my fellow teacher's assessment. however, with the announcement of school closure on friday, i started to experience the magic of a snow-day.  a snow-day means no alarm clock, movie-watching, good intentions of catching up on work, warm drinks, and most importantly, time to rest.  it's an unplanned gift, making it all the more extraordinary.

i spent friday in a general state of lounging.  with everything covered in 4-5 inches of ice, driving was out of the question.  when saturday came, i decided to brave the conditions and attempt to drive to my aunt and uncle's house about 15 miles away to hunker down with family. the ice had yet to melt, so after 2 hours of white-knuckled, expletive-filled driving, i made it with only slight emotional scarring.  (memo to texans: when you're driving on ice, don't ride the tail of whoever is in front of you. especially when going up a hill.)   upon safe arrival, the real festivities began and continued through sunday.  with church canceled, there was no real reason to leave the house.  i couldn't have been happier.  up went the christmas decorations, out came the puzzles, christmas music filled the house, and delicious baked goods came out of the oven.  it.  was.  glorious.

sunday evening rolled around, which brought the question of whether school would again be canceled the following day.  "surely not," i thought.  how could we all possibly get so lucky as to have not one, but two snow-days?! i assumed because the roads were drivable, school would happen.  around 6:00pm, my cousin's school district called the house bearing the news: no school. and thus began the dance party.  my cousin (a sophomore in high school) and i could not restrain ourselves.  another day of unplanned rest!  does life get any better?!  only when on monday night, you are informed that school will again be canceled on tuesday.  my mother must be living right (thanks jules!) because this is just out of control. this time, my aunt joined my cousin and me in the dancing.  how did we ever get to be so lucky to be forced into spending more time with family and friends, enjoying the spirit of the season?

am i wondering how on earth i'm going to get through the rest of my material with the reduced number of classes? am i going to have to revise lesson plans? will kids already be in christmas-break mode? we will have to make up the days? of course.  but it is a welcome consequence of being able slow down and live in the present while spending time with people most dear.    

the christmas season is already wonderful, but snow days on top of it?  truly magical.