Snow Days

I woke up during the middle of the night, and our bedroom was bathed in pale blue light.  That only happens when moonlight reflects off of heavy snow cover.  I sighed delightedly and snuggled under my down comforter.

This morning we woke to 8 inches of snow.  Cal and I took Jezebel for a walk.  No one was out, except a hiker who jovially announced to us that he didn’t have to work today.  We waved and smiled.

Other than that, the scene was perfectly quiet.  Only falling snow and a heavily coated ground can muffle absolutely all noise.  The whiteness is blinding and makes everything around it garish and dirty.

In contrast, our house is giddy and loud. Classes are cancelled, and since today was the beginning of the semester there’s no homework to be done. Christmas break just got extended. WooHoo! The boys are throwing on their snow clothes, grabbing whatever clothing they can find (regardless of who it belongs to—Matt smashed his feet into Ariel’s snowboots) and hoisting sleds on their back.

The dog is in hyper tears.  Partly because she adores the snow and wants to go sledding with the guys.  And partly because Jacob didn’t like his coffee this morning (Cal made it and didn’t use the good coffee), and Jake poured it in the dog’s water bowl.  A Lab on caffeine is not a pretty site.  Jacob has since been instructed in the proper care of a Lab, which does not include a liberal use of stimulants.

Everyone is outside now—Ariel got tired of Jezebel’s whimpering. I’m surveying the damage. Breakfast dishes scattered. Snow melting on the living room floor. Laundry spilling from the hampers.  I guess it’s time to start cleaning up... Or time to make hot chocolate from scratch with dark chocolate cocoa.  Yeah, that’s sounds much better.  The dishes will wait, laundry’s not going anywhere and the water will evaporate.  I love snow days.