Snow Day! Without The Snow.

My eight year old son Zachary watched the news and the early prime time crawler with baited anticipation. The impending storm of 2007 (I have to laugh at our local news coverage) was headed our way and for an eight year old boy that could only mean one thing....

NO SCHOOL!

His excitement and anticipation immediately transformed me back to when I was a young boy back in Albuquerque where snow and ice were a much more regular occurrence than we see today in Austin, Texas. All of those nights camped out on the living room sofa waiting, hoping, and praying to see the beautiful shadow of snow flakes against the street light. That gloaming protection battling fervently against the winter night! The beat of my heart as that billowy light suddenly showed a flake, then two. Oh the excitement when the first dusting of snow started to accumulate. The rare prospect of a day without teachers and homework was almost too much to bear. The baited excitement of mindless hours of snow ball fights, snowman killing (a ritual of destroying of other kid's hand crafted snowmen), football games and countless other adventures that only snow made possible! It was what I lived for as a young whipper snapper!

Well today my son got his wish. No school, though because of ice rather than snow. We just came in from being outside "exploring" and seeing if we could make our recycling bin into a makeshift sled (doesn't work by the way). Zachary is excited because he gets a "free day" and Josh, my three and half year old is just pumped up because brother is jazzed.

It is moments like these that help you reach back and remember what it was like to be a kid. For me, it's a good reminder to lighten up a little and not worry so much about the work as it will be there later today and even tomorrow. It's a SNOW DAY and as Zachary said...I am not too old to have some fun with it!

If only I could make a snow ball! These ice balls really hurt!

Ripple On My Friends!

Steve
aka The Snowman Assassin