Oh the glory of the snow day! We never lose the excited, bubbling over happiness that we first experienced in childhood when school was cancelled for the day. The plow truck rumbles past the house with that unmistakable sound of steel scraping on pavement. You can hear it coming several minutes before you can see it. The wind is gusting the snow into drifts around the yard. You don’t have to get dressed for work. The comfy clothes go on and you snuggle in with your coffee for a relaxing day of watching the storm from the warmth of your home.

It’s like a gift isn’t it? In our multi-tasking world of “never enough time” the snow day is nature’s reminder to us to slow down and savor our time. I fill the feeders and watch the constant traffic of birds and squirrels. There are no distractions today. The tv is off— the only sounds are the blowing wind, bird chatter, the keyboard tickity taps, and that plow truck.

Walking around the yard and through the woods as the storm winds down is always restorative for me. I love the clean air and how the snow lays on the trees like a white down blanket. Finding fresh animal tracks is a treat. Coming into a warm house after a jaunt in the snow is so cozy, especially if there is a hearty stew bubbling on the stove. The savory aroma wraps around your head and pulls you in.

What did you do on snow days when you were a kid? Do you still do any of those things? We got our sleds out and zoomed down any hill we could find. When our homemade mittens were soaked and our socks soggy from the snow that kept getting into our boots we would head home for lunch and dry clothes. It didn’t take long to eat hot soup, get freshly wrapped in warm duds and be back outside looking for our friends and our next adventure.

The childlike excitement of those bygone days has stayed with me over the years. Simple joys like this keep me grounded and bring life back in focus. Share your snow day adventures— childhood or recent— in the comments section. I’d love to hear them!