Let it snow

Something I am positive we can all agree on, snow days are an absolute blast, whether it’s a blast of fun or blast of fury is up to you. Snow is this magical unicorn that everyone dreams of and longs for all winter, forgetting the consequences that come along with said magical unicorn.. er.. snow.

Living in Oklahoma, a really good snowfall only comes once a year (if we’re lucky). Now, a good snowfall is what every little kid dreams of right before Christmas break, the kind of snow that’s thick and fluffy, but still wet enough to be able to make a perfectly compact snowball that can then be used to absolutely obliterate their unsuspecting siblings (or parents) with. And yes, I am most definitely speaking from experience.

Snow days just feel so much better as a kid when you get to miss school to enjoy the weather. Especially right before a holiday. Getting extra days off? Heck yeah! Who wouldn’t be excited about that? Building snowmen and making snow angels while the teachers are home grading papers, sounds like a seven year olds dream to me.

Then DUN, DUN, DUN, *queue ominous music* April and May roll around, it’s starting to warm up outside, the birds are singing, the grass is green again, and every school child is stuck inside their drab classrooms when those days could have been spent outside making mud pies and playing at the splash pad.

Most school systems have “built in” snow days on their calendars. The last five or six Fridays of the school year are scheduled to be “off days” unless… you guessed it… there’s a snow day! Now because of that day of fun building frosty the snowman, free Friday is gone.

Now if you had to pick between, A.) having a day you could spend a few hours outside frolicking in the snow, only to come back inside with numb fingers and toes from the cold and chapped lips from the wind, or B.) spending a whole, beautiful, spring day outside camping or playing outside in the sprinkler, which would you pick?

As adults, snow days just aren’t as exciting. Just go to any Walmart the day of or day before a snow storm and do a little bit of people watching. Everyone is absolutely freaking out like it’s the end of the world. We all need to stock up on milk and bread, and milk and bread, and milk and bread, and… you guessed it… milk and bread.

Why everyone stocks up on these kitchen staples before a snowstorm is beyond me. Bread I absolutely understand, if the power does end up going out, at least you can still make a pb&j or have some bread with cinnamon and sugar.

But buying milk when you are prepping for the blizzard of the century is just absolutely bonkers to me. What are you and your family of three going to do with six gallons of milk when the power goes out?

As a kid living in the middle of nowhere, when the power went out at our house, it was out for a hot minute. As a result of this unfortunate situation, it was always drilled into my head that if the power is out, the fridge and freezer stay shut, because the second you open it, the cold air is all going to fall out and the food is going to spoil. So really, what does one do with six gallons of milk when the power goes out?

My favorite snow day activities used to involve a lot of dare devil like stunts and giant plastic saucers with the occasional 4 wheeler thrown into the mix.

I have recently realized that falling hurts more than it did when I was a kid… it hurts a lot. So instead of pretending to be Sean White the “flying tomato” snow boarder, or just acting like a hooligan in general, I enjoy going outside with my dogs and watching them get to experience the cold, wet precipitation we all pretend to enjoy.

My dogs are not of the thick furred variety so our trips to go potty in the backyard are very short lived when the weather outside is frightful, but it always an experience none the less.

This snow storm is the very first time my youngest pup, Ren, has gotten to see snow, and he has no idea what to do with it. My older dog, Weiss, hates the cold and especially hates the cold and wet. Snow is not her friend. She likes to bark at the flakes when they fall near her face.

While watching my dogs uh… do their “business”, I witnessed the neighborhood kids pull the same shenanigans I always did when I was their age. They were sneaking around in the alley behind my house so I knew they were up to something.

The oldest kid, and who I assumed to be the ring leader of this little band of hooligans, was on his knees making snowballs as fast as his little hands possibly could. The other four kept looking around, like they were afraid they were all going to be in trouble.

As I look on, another group of neighborhood kids round the corner of the alley and start hurling snowballs towards the band of hooligans I had been watching and the snowball fight of the century commences.

The cold, winter air, full of the sound of laughter and the distinct thud of snow against faux down coats. It’s one of the most surreal moments I have experienced, and it reminded me why we should just enjoy the moment while the magical unicorn is still in our reach, and have as much fun as we possible can, any chance we get. Don’t forget to love your neighbors, Love your pets (even the magic unicorn), Shop local,

And have a very Merry Christmas