No Day Like a Snow Day

Snow day! I'm never quite sure who appreciates them more, the students or the teachers! Perhaps that is difficult to measure. What I know for certain is that this teacher covets them. Based on the forecast, I knew we'd have off last evening already and that made this day more special. Because of the bitter cold of late, I was already dedicating my weekend to reading. I also used the time to bake, cook, clean and get some outside exercise. In full disclosure, I also managed a couple naps.

On Saturday I read, The Elephant in the Room by Tommy Tomlinson. This book resonated with me on several levels. The premise is defined in the subtitle, One Fat Man's Quest to Get Smaller in a Growing America. Weight control is definitely something that I wrestle with. However, I found some other themes throughout the book that spoke to me as well. Learning about southern culture and Tommy's stories, complete with humorous phraseology, made this an enjoyable Saturday read. Tommy's wife Alix is a dear friend of mine and it was interesting to add that dimension of reading this book to the mix. Although, I have to admit, part of me was a bit concerned that Tommy would have written of his visit to Manitowoc when I first met him. We went to the Penquin (as they spelled it on their sign) and chowed down on some deep fried cheese curds. I guess that made me part of the problem with the growing America! On Sunday, I read Solo by Kwame Alexander. In February, Matt de la Pena is returning

to our school. He was here for an author visit four years ago. Two weeks later, Kwame Alexander will be at Washington Junior High. I have read some of his books but not Solo or Swing. He writes in lyric form and I enjoyed the connection to Ghana, West Africa. This was also a good winter read as I look books that make me think. On page 37 of Solo, he writes, "My family stands for too much and not enough." Phrases like that give me pause to reflect on my own life as I step outside the characters of the book.

My snow day bonus book is Becoming by Michelle Obama. I was eyeing this book and was thrilled when it was gifted to me by a friend. I enjoy biographies and reading about a woman for whom I have the utmost respect is perfect. Given that she is also from the midwest and about the same age allows for greater understanding of the time period in which she grew up. She carried herself with such grace during her tenure that I wanted to learn of her upbringing and how she got to be this way. Her experiences growing up in Chicago as a person of color adds much to my understanding.

Of course, no snow day could be complete without a walk outside. I enjoy winter walking, especially when I have a chance to put on snow shoes. What would take 5 - 10 minutes in the summer, took closer to 30. Of course, I stopped to enjoy the quiet, the snow and the views.

I pass the slide, waiting for the spring....or grandkids!

I pass the garden table, in a couple months, or maybe four, I will be busy potting and planting

newly grown seedlings. The depths of snow like a water bank, filling up the groundwater table when it melts in spring.

I pass the pond where the summer storms of strong winds sent the willows twisting into the pond only now to be covered by the wonderful white snowflakes of winter.

Pine trees, laced with snow like nature's tinsel, complete with un-plucked crabapples, like ornaments on the tree.

The birds and the bees are mostly quiet now, winter's pause slowing things down, before the longer days of spring bring their return to activity.

And even in the coldest of winter days, the spring in the back of our lot keeps flowing. A gentle reminder that while Mother Nature may slow us down, we never really stop.