Snow Days? How About Snow Week?

We are on our third major snowfall of the season. We're almost blase about snow now. "Oh, look, it's snowing again," one of us might say, casually. Or might not because it's so unremarkable by now.

But this one was actually a significant event by Tennessee standards (meaning that we got significant accumulation...for Tennessee). We only got three or four inches at our house, I think, but some parts of the state got as much as a foot of snow. That's Serious Snow in the Volunteer State, kids.

Like every other school in Middle Tennessee, William's preschool was out on Monday and Tuesday. We just had a long Christmas vacation, and we spent a lot of time together inside. Then we got snow and spent...more time together inside. William likes to play in the snow the first day, but even then, he's not keen on staying out there for very long. And I can understand. It's cold out there. We don't really have the most appropriate clothing for snowy weather. And you get wet playing in the snow if you're out there for a long time in makeshift snow gear. It's all fun and games until you're cold and wet.

So we stayed inside for the most part. Thus the email from preschool saying that it would be open on Wednesday came as a welcome relief. We joyfully piled into the minivan, and I dropped him off at school. Woot! It did not come a moment too soon. Even if no one else had it, I know that I had cabin fever. It was nice to both 1) get out of the house and 2) get a short break from all the constant indoor togetherness.

Knowing that I might only get one good opportunity to get some William-in-Snow photos, though, I even got out in the snowy front yard in my pajamas, coat, and boots to snap a few quick pictures for your viewing pleasure on Monday.

Here are David and William, preparing to take a toboggan ride:

















And here's William with his very first snowman!
















Yeah, that's about the size of the snowmen that we build here in Tennessee, or in the South in general. I built a similarly-sized snowman in Birmingham, actually, in 1987 when we got about the same amount of snow.

Side note: We do have some neighbors here who were very ambitious and rolled up a large amount of the snow in their yards to build four-foot-tall snowmen, though. They're pretty impressive...or were, until some teenaged vandals (I'm guessing) took a late-night spin through the neighborhood and knocked down snowmen. The homeowners' association email list-serve is all aflutter over this.

So we enjoyed the snow, we enjoyed the snow days, and now I'm glad that we're back to our usual routine.

But I'll tell you. I'm really feeling for the parents with kids in the public schools; they're STILL out. Oy. I'm dreading next year when we have inclement weather and William's out of school for days on end. I read the school system's explanation of why they opt to cancel school on certain days, but I still think they're overreaching. I mean, yes, I understand that safety is of paramount concern, and certain roads are icy, and all that. I get it. But the school district only builds five snow days into its calendar per year, and they've already exceeded it by two days. Actually, perhaps that is what I should take issue with: the district not putting enough snow days on the calendar. I'm feeling an email coming on.