"Schools are closed in Mitchell, Yancey, Madison . . ."
Yesterday's snow and those words on the radio took me back twenty-some years.
Those were the magic words we waited for back when our boys were young. A few blowing flakes the night before would arouse our hopes and as soon as we woke, we'd turn on the radio. Sure, the ground was white outside but we're just high enough up the mountain that there might be no snow at all down on the hard road, half a mile downhill. So we waited for the radio to confirm our hopes.
Those were the magic words we waited for back when our boys were young. A few blowing flakes the night before would arouse our hopes and as soon as we woke, we'd turn on the radio. Sure, the ground was white outside but we're just high enough up the mountain that there might be no snow at all down on the hard road, half a mile downhill. So we waited for the radio to confirm our hopes.
The roads are key. Our county is large and doesn't have the snow removal capabilities of northern states (like New York, where my sister-in-law tells me they have 28 inches on the ground.) Their schools rarely close and their roads are kept clear, though snow piles higher and higher on the shoulders, but here in Madison, with only one high school and buses traveling long distances on sometimes not-so-great roads, a little snow in the upper reaches of the county is enough to shut the whole system down.
"No school!" we'd holler upstairs to the boys and all of us would pull the covers higher to catch an extra bit of sleep.
Eventually there'd be the chores to do and a lovely Little House In The Woods day would follow with cocoa and popcorn, cookie making, reading by the fire, maybe a pot of soup or chili simmering on the stove. If there was enough snow for snow balls and snowmen, that was on the schedule, as was snow ice-cream.
These lovely unexpected holidays were treasured -- though I must admit, there could be too much of a good thing, as in the memorable January-February of '78 when schools were closed for six weeks.
They say this winter may be colder than usual. Children all over the county are probably keeping their fingers crossed.
Eventually there'd be the chores to do and a lovely Little House In The Woods day would follow with cocoa and popcorn, cookie making, reading by the fire, maybe a pot of soup or chili simmering on the stove. If there was enough snow for snow balls and snowmen, that was on the schedule, as was snow ice-cream.
These lovely unexpected holidays were treasured -- though I must admit, there could be too much of a good thing, as in the memorable January-February of '78 when schools were closed for six weeks.
They say this winter may be colder than usual. Children all over the county are probably keeping their fingers crossed.
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