Let’s Adopt A Snow Day Mindset

While we’ve had continuous snow on the ground at Spring Bird this winter, I would still assert that this winter has been rather mild. Temperatures have hovered around the 30’s, and we’ve only worried about pipes freezing in the cottage once.

The climate crisis is afoot, without a doubt. 

So, Monday and Tuesday’s steady snowfall was a welcome relief in that it felt  like a normal winter storm. Furthermore, with plunging temperatures this week, we will no doubt be trickling water through pipes and opening closet and cabinet doors to fend off frozen pipes. 

But, unfortunately, epic snow storms are now powerless against  pandemic zoom school. Snow days have gone away, and yesterday would have been a snow day in the before times. 

Still, I was grateful to Penelope’s 5th grade teacher who ended class early and sent the kids outside to play in the snow. Their homework was actually to play and report on what they did. 

Penelope built this snowperson, whom she named Tomato. Tomato’s eyes are made from the seeds of locust pods, and I lent her a carrot for the nose. In the evening I saw a deer help herself to the eating Tomato’s face, but I don’t think Tomato minded much.

After completing Tomato’s construction, Penelope just fell backwards into the snow in the most delicious surrender. She lay there gazing up at the sky, and it made me wonder how we can build a snow day mindset into these unending work and zoom days. How do we allow ourselves to surrender to moments and shove aside the “shoulds” and “have-to’s”. If technology is snow day proof, we need to find ways to pull the plug and lie in the snow. I think Tomato agrees.