Flush ice cubes down the toilet, wear your pajamas inside out, put a spoon under your pillow, put a white crayon and/or a penny in the freezer, tape a button to the ceiling, leave ice cubes on your porch, and/or wear a colored sock on one foot.
What do these activities have in common? Parents of school-age kids probably know; they are things kids do to bring on a snow day. Had I not grown up in Oklahoma and raised my son there, I might have known that.
I’d never heard of any of these superstitions until a TV news report this evening showed a mighty-pleased-with-himself boy boasting about having done some of these things last night. And he’s a believer now for sure because Denver got dumped on big-time today. I’ve got maybe 14″ in my yard now and it’s still coming down. Darn those kids anyway!
I checked with my daughter-in-law to see if my grandkids had anything to do with it. She said the only thing they do is put their ski trail maps in the freezer. I suggested they put them in a different part of the freezer, since none of this snow landed up on the slopes. It’s all down here in town and out on the plains. I-70 is closed all the way to the Kansas border.
At least the storm wasn’t a surprise. The forecasters had been warning us about it for several days. I stocked in plenty of groceries and have no plans to go out for a couple of days. Ah, the joys of retirement. No need to battle the snow to get to work. And no kids at home driving me crazy on their snow day.
Related articles
- How to have a snow day (andrewbwatt.wordpress.com)
- I-70 Shutdown From Kansas Border to Denver (fox4kc.com)
- Snow! (coloradorescuedog.wordpress.com)
- Possibly historic snowstorm hitting Denver (cbsnews.com)
- “Monster” snowstorm pounds Denver – CBS News (cbsnews.com)
- Ten Snow Day Rituals (midmittenkids.com)
Fun post! Definitely need this today.
Gah we NEED snow. Worst ski season I can remember here in the Sierras.
On the bright side I can’t really do much skiing right now and my daughter is away at college; the house is only awash in teenagers during school breaks.
Guess I’ll have to flush the ice cubes myself this year. A parent’s work is never done -sigh-
If Denver is any indication, you might want to be cautious with the ice cubes. Maybe just one …
Look on the bright side: You don’t have to go out tomorrow and try to shovel 14″ off your sidewalk and driveway.
I have never heard of those superstitions to bring snow (days). Huh… interesting. Yeah, I heard you guys got dumped on pretty bad up there. Thanks, it’ll help with our water supply. 😀 Better yet, send some our way, would ya! Please????
If only I could!! I think I have enough to send about 10″ to you and 10″ to Rachael.
Last year on February 1 Joplin MO had 20 to 22 inches of snow, followed by near zero temperatures. This year, highs averaging in the 50’s. We got the bottom of your storm, Pied, and a nice 2″ of rain that we needed badly.
Paraphrasing Forrest Gump: “Life (like the weather) is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re going to get.”
Given a choice, I’d have preferred the rain. I don’t have to shovel rain. 🙁
They said it was going to be a snow record breaker. Stay snug and warm – and delight in it all!
It was. Broke our record for a February snowfall. But only the meteorologists were excited about it.