Snow Day!

Remember being a kid and waking up in the morning while the dark presses in. The morning seems quieter than usual because the blanket of snow has muted the noise. The birds aren't singing. The cars are not whizzing along the roadway.
Then, there, the noise of a shovel scraping along a driveway.
I remember hearing the radio blaring the news in the kitchen as my mom listened to the school closings. And when they announced our school, oh, the joy. A free day.
Since my kids were homeschooled until a few years ago, they didn't know the feeling of a snow day. And even going to school now, they rarely get a day off school.
Our little town doesn't have buses. Everyone can walk to school. (But my boys drive the mile to school so they can squeeze out every ounce of morning sleep then rush there at the last minute.)
Usually when the snow covers Columbus, they listen to the school closings glumly then set off grumbling about our superintendent.
Last night was different though. Earl worked until 1 and when he came to bed -- at 2 or 3, he told me the roads were a mess. The snow had not swept through. Sleet covered the city.
Now sleet the superintendent has to pay attention to because of all those elementary school children walking to school. The best thing that can happen for my kids is for the superintendent to walk out onto the sidewalk and fall on his butt because of the ice.
Maybe that happened because when I stumbled out of bed at 6 and clicked on the school's website, it read "Schools closed due to icy conditions."
Score.
I walked into Tucker's bedroom and whispered in his ear. "No school."
"Yes!" He punched the air. "I was right."
I smiled and started to leave.
"Hey, come here," he said. And he reached up to hug me.
"My friends will all be here at 7," he said as he turned over to go back to sleep.
Then I went to Spencer. He had slept restlessly, worried about a chemistry test he wasn't prepared for. Just the night before as we sat at the dining room table, he told me that he is exhausted. Tired of working so hard at school and at basketball.
As he slept this morning, I whispered in his ear that school was closed, he blinked his long lashes a few times and focused.
"Really?"
"Yes, get some sleep," I responded.
Hopefully, he will have a chance to renew his tired mind and body.
As for me, my work was only postponed until 10 and then I get to drive through the icy town to school where very few students will probably arrive to meet with me.
For the boys, the day will be filled with video games, hot chocolate, reruns of The Office and, hopefully, some studying for a chemistry test. Maybe they'll even take the cat for another walk in the snow.