After recently surviving the ice/snowpocalypse of 2015, I started thinking about how snow days are seen and enjoyed at different ages. As a kid, a snow day was the best day of the year beside the holidays. Growing up, I found that although they were still welcomed, the activities changed during snow days. Snow falling in Knoxville doesn't happen often, but when it does, it's an exciting day for all, no matter the age.
Ages 1–4
Even at the young age of 5 months old, the snow effected many my age. As the Blizzard of '93 came in March, the power went out for a few days and all we had to keep us warm were blankets and a fire. Granted I don't remember any of this, but this blizzard was one for the books.
Ages 5–11
Even the mention of a dusting over the valley, and every kid is ecstatic at the idea of a snow day. The night before the predicted snowfall was filled with snow dance after snow dance and wearing our pajamas inside out with the hopes of waking up to a winter wonderland. Snow days were enjoyed with sledding, building snow men, drinking mug upon mug of hot chocolate, coming in for lunch, then doing it all over again until our parents forced us to come in for the night. The worst part of the day was getting all bundled up with ski bibs, hats, gloves and snow boots, sweating by the time we finally got it all on and finally released into the frigid temperatures. Kids planned ways in which they could sneak out and hose the street, thinking the prank would them gain another day filled with snowball fights and building snow forts. I don't remember the last time it snowed on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day, but there was always anticipation to see what Santa had left and if it was going to be a true White Christmas that year.
Ages 12-18
Snow days were still great because school was always called off (Knox county schools were/are terrified of the snow), but as we got older snow days became more of a social time with friends, rather than playing outside all day long. As a teenager, I usually slept until 11 or so, therefore always waking up after much of the snow had already melted. If it had snowed a lot, we would head over to Lakeshore or the infamous hill between our neighborhood and the next, to put our sledding skills to the test. As we got older, our moms would sent us out with our dads while they probably spent the day inside by the fire drinking hot chocolate with Bailey's. Our dads were always happy to venture out with us because it meant they all got to hang out by the bonfire and drink a few beers with the other dad's. After a few hours of sledding we were all tired and headed inside to spend the rest of the day warming up by the fire and drinking hot chocolate, with our faces glued to the TV.
Ages 19-22
In college, a snow day is a miracle and when snow is predicted, although we still get our hopes up, the University rarely cancels. When it snows and classes aren't cancelled, we still trek out in the snow, but not for sledding or snowball fights. Instead, we venture out in the below freezing temperatures just to head to class. On the rare occasion classes are cancelled, the infamous snow day, for most, is spent in bed on a Netflix binge or in front of the TV with roommates, pigging out on junk food and bundled up in blankets. As I've gotten older, sledding and snowball fights are still enjoyed, but only for a short amount of time before I'm exhausted again and want to climb back into my bed.
Although snow days don't come as much as we all would like, when they do come, they help us remember the days when waking up to a front yard covered in white was the best thing in the world.
As Andy Goldsworthy says, "Snow provokes responses that reach right back to childhood."
