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Another “Snow Day” in the Great Northeast
I am not a big fan of winter. Overall, I love the four seasons and the amazing changes that occur every three months, but the warmth and beauty of summer make it my favorite season while the cold and the snow combine to make winter my least favorite. In fact, like a big, old bear, I wouldn’t mind hibernating for the duration, especially once Thanksgiving and Christmas have passed. Fortunately, winter does offer one real pleasure, one surprising joy, a gift that periodically visits us and rewards us for our suffering. That gift is a special treasure that we experienced again at the beginning of this week — a snow day.
As a child, I can vividly remember listening to the radio in the morning and hearing those magical words for the first time: “St. Mary’s Institute is closed today.”
“Really? Seriously? I don’t have to go to school? Wow! That’s amazing!”
I don’t ever recall going back to sleep at that point. My parents and all six kids were awake and alive and excited. From the windows, we could see that some of the neighborhood kids were already outside playing, so as quickly as we could, we joined them: building snowmen and forts, throwing snowballs, and playing tackle football in our still unplowed street. Later, every pile of snow created by the plow became another mountain for “King of the Hill,” a game I was not…
