Wednesday, January 10, 2007

Snow Day!!!




It is the first real snowy day we've had... and on top of that it's snowday!!! No School!!! Yay!!! (I like snowdays more now as a teacher than I did when I was a kid!) The sun is coming out too. Steve's out snowblowing and having a blast. I think it's going to warm up a little later, so the snow will be good packing... that means a snow man and a great snowball fight.
One day last week one of my students asked me if I remembered the "Snowstorm of 1966". I was a little surprized but he said his dad was talking about it. I had to say I don't remember it per se, but I do remember some great snowstorms when I was about 7 or 8 (I'm 47, nah, nah.).
I thought back about digging snowforts in high piles of snow on the side of our driveway. I thought about long days of sleigh riding and coming inside with frozen toes. If your toes are frozen in your boots there is a special way to get them off.
First, limp home after many hours of sledding. When you get in the mudroom, begin to cry because your feet hurt so badly from the cold. Flop on the floor, sit on the step if your brother isn't there, and begin to shake your feet to get your boots off. (large chunks of snow will come out of the top of your boots) Attempts to unsnap, untie, unbuckle anything will be of no avail because your hands are frozen solid, too. Kick your feet (continue crying), kick one boot on the other to try to get it off. (more snow will fly out of your boot tops)
Keep looking into the kitchen to see if your mother is coming to help you. She isn't, so keep kicking your boots. Try to pull your snowpants off until the legs are over your boots and so tangled that you become frantic and kick with ferver. (any remaining snow will be inside the snowpants).
Eventually, the plastic bread bags will let loose and your boots will come sliding off. You will immediately have the excruciating sensation that your toes are on fire and ready to fall off. Do not stop crying, even though your mother has threatened never to let you go outside to play again.
Unload the rest of your snow clothes in a pile on the mudroom floor and start toward the bathroom in your nylon socks that have slid down to the arch of your foot and are flopping, cold and wet on the kitchen floor; you can slow down the crying to a wimper and baboon. Climb on the bathroom countertop and stick your frozen feet in the sink. Put the water on lukewarm and run it over your feet until you begin to have feeling in them.
When you are recovered, check in the kitchen, as there will probably be hot chocolate and marshmellows... and your wet clothing will have magically disappeared.
Thanks, mom.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Interesting to know.