Monday, December 15, 2008

Snow Day!

Today is the first day of the season that the schools have closed due to the weather. Now living in Missouri, we experience all 4 seasons and usually feel the extremes that each season can bring. It is possible for temperatures in the winter to dip to zero degrees and in the summer reach 100! Throw in wind chill and humidity to the mix and it can get pretty miserable in winter and summer. But how do "they" decide it's a snow day and close the schools? I've been told that principals and superintendents actually get up early in the mornings and drive the roads in their school districts to determine if conditions would be hazardous to the safety of children riding in school buses. Today's "weather event" was some freezing rain and sleet overnight that caused the roads in the surrounding area to be glazed over. No snow accumulation. No broken tree limbs from ice damage. No power outages. Is it just me or has the schools gotten soft over the years? The only times I remember getting a snow day when I was growing up, was if there was 6 or more inches of snow on the ground! Now it seems if we get a half inch they will close the schools. And how do they relay this information? In my day, you woke up and turned on the TV to see if your school was closed. This morning I was woken from a deep sleep by the phone ringing (at 5:30 AM!) and an automated message informing me and my wife that schools would be closed today. Needless to say, I couldn't go back to sleep and I finally got up at 6 AM to get some coffee and watch the morning news report. So now the kids will be home today. Of course they were happy. My oldest did seem a little disappointed when he realized that he didn't "need" to do his homework last night. Well, unlike school kids, grownups still have to work. My boss didn't call me up with a snow day today. And for stay at home moms, this makes for an even busier day than normal with extra children to look after. Hmm, this will be a reality check for the kids some day. Well, time to go check the road conditions for real!

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