Make your own snow day?

I never had snow days growing up. No matter how bad the snow was, our school never closed. That Canadian city blood or something. I used to be so jealous of my best friend and my cousin, both of whom attended a rural school where there were frequent closures just because the roads were too bad up north.

Meanwhile, my daughter has had two snow days thus far. I kind of like it because it means I can go back to bed! Still, I nearly called today a snow day myself. Or an ice day. Our weather report said there were high wind warnings for the afternoon (and I can still hear it beating our windows senseless right now at almost 10 pm) but I didn’t know how slippery it was outside. After driving her to school and parking all the way down the block (due to handicapped spots and all the parents who ignore the signs for said spots), it took us both forever to pick our way down the sidewalk. Once we got to the gate into the yard I took one look at the sheet of ice and said there was no way I was letting her walk across the entire yard all the way to her door, especially since she had already fallen twice just in that short time. Instead, we gingerly picked our way up the icy driveway and I took her into the office. I asked if it would be okay to let her walk down to her classroom that way instead, and the receptionist said of course – she didn’t blame me at all.

Had I known how icy it was – and had I known that they had also added a flash freeze warning to make it worse in the afternoon – I might have considered keeping her home. I did feel better knowing that they hadn’t gone outside at recess or lunch, letting them run around in the gym instead. It was nice to know they weren’t risking broken bones or knocked out teeth on the ice outside.

Have you ever called a snow day?