Monday (but not) Message: An Ode To A Snow Day

Dear Student Affairs Roadrunners:

Second day of classes and already our first snow day of the term!?This is shaping up to be a snowy winter on the Front Range, and I’ve already seen so many examples of how our team rallies to support students as their schedules are disrupted by weather.?During these cases, the BEST of us is so clearly on display and I’m so, so grateful to work with you.

But I wanted to wax a little poetic today about what snow days mean to me, and maybe to you as well.??

When I was a kiddo, snow days were absolutely sacred in our house.?My mom, a second grade teacher, loved them so much that she’d occasionally have her students go outside when winter weather was approaching to manifest the snow by singing “Let It Snow” around the flagpole.?She, like many of us, needed the day off and away from her routine.?For my sister and I, snow days meant sleeping in, homemade lunches, daytime TV, and sledding in the cow fields (Note:?If you ever find yourself sledding in cow pastures, please know that frozen cow pies HURT when hurdling over them at great speeds with a thin layer of plastic under you).?Although my father didn’t get snow days (police officers’ work became even more intense on those days!), he always contrived faster sledding routes or commandeer the woodstove to cook dinner on when the electricity would go out.

And we had traditions.?Whenever the first snowflake fell, we immediately called our grandfather Ralph to let him know “it’s snowing!.”?While he’s no longer with us, I still call my parents when I see the first flake.??Because we lived on my other grandparents’ farm, snow days often also meant heading into the field to distribute hay to the hungry cattle or, in really bad weather, watching my dad use an ax to cut holes in the pond so the cows could drink.?I remember once seeing my grandfather Lee on a tractor pushing snow around the field in the middle of a storm…I later learned that this was so the cows had grass to eat.?Who knew?

So, for me, snow days bring me right back to those days.?I still prefer to be home when it is snowing, with a fire on and the tea kettle pouring.?It is probably my most favorite thing and one of my traditions that I try to keep alive because it reminds me to take a break, enjoy the day, and find the fun in everything.?And really, that’s what we want for our students’ college experience right??We want to give them experiences that they will remember, traditions that they will hold onto, things that will remind them of the time they set a goal and worked hard to achieve it and had some fun and memorable experiences along the way.

Roadrunners, I hope your snow day was safe and memorable.?Let’s give a lot of thanks to the folks who DON’T get snow days for ensuring our routines can continue when the roads clear and the ice melts.??

Enjoy the picture of me and Rowdy in the snow!?Feel free to send me one of your day in response!?????

Will