Snow Day?

​It is Monday. The sun is shining and it’s 66 degrees. It’s hard for me to fathom what the weather forecasters are saying. Snow? After a day like this? They say it’s possible. The schools have already made decisions to close. I’m almost certain that there is no milk or bread in the grocery store. Why milk and bread? Why do we do that? In the event that we lose power, the milk will spoil. I guess I understand the bread. You could always make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I guess. I think if I were going to brave the store today, I’d buy flashlight batteries and maybe a new book to read if the roads are going to be closed.
Snow in this part of the world fascinates most of us. It doesn’t matter if its flurries that never hit the ground or a light dusting that covers the windshields of our cars. We tend to lose our minds, take pictures and post them on social media. Southerners are extra in so many ways and a Southern snow storm is just another way to prove it. Here are some things that we do that set us apart from areas that don’t think twice about snow.

1. We shut down. Literally. Our schools close. Government offices close. The Governor declares a state of emergency (for 2 inches of snow or less). I have lost count at how many phone calls we’ve gotten about what will or won’t be open tomorrow. Most of our municipalities will not be operating.
2. We buy groceries, even if we just got groceries last week. Milk and bread are snow staples. Again, I don’t understand it.
3. We wear camo. We don’t own snowsuits or snow boots and snow pants like my family members in South Dakota do. However, we own hunting clothes in all shades of camouflage. Even those of us like me that don’t hunt will scrounge up some camo to wear so that we can venture outside into the magic/madness that is snow in the South.
4. We don’t drive. We can drive in the rain and in temperatures that are blazing, but snow and ice keep us at home. We don’t have snow tires or snow chains because there is no guarantee that it will snow even once each year. Oh, but when it does, we aren’t going anywhere!
5. We close roads and bridges. This is another reason we don’t drive—we can’t. I get it. We don’t have snow equipment like other places with harsh winters and safety is a huge concern. The roads are closed. I think the powers that be realize that this is for the health and benefit of all citizens. Most of us just don’t know how to drive in snow.
6. We make a ton of references to Disney’s Frozen. We just do. I’m not sure why.
7. We call each other to see if it’s snowing where our friends and families are. Some things we just need to know.
8. We take tons of pictures and post them to social media. It’s what we do. In fact, according to my social media memories from today, it was snowing in 2014 and I took pictures of my kids and dogs playing in it.
9. We make snow ice cream every single time enough accumulates in that enamel wear bowl that we put out. People in other parts of the country do not make this delicacy at every snow day.
10. We enjoy it while it lasts, but are thankful when it’s gone. Southern kids don’t waste a single snowflake. They make snow angels, snowmen, catch the flakes on their tongues and throw snowballs. Parents watch and laugh. We enjoy it for the moment, but deep down, we want the sunshine to come and melt it. We realize that there are some things that we weren’t equipped for among them are snow and unsweet tea.

I hope that each of us makes good memories if the snow does come. Take pictures, spend time with your families. Eat bread and drink milk. Snow days are rare here. Relish them! As for me, I’ll make my child go outside for the obligatory picture because she hates snow. Then, I’ll likely sit by the fireplace and read because as Disney’s Queen Elsa says, “The cold never bothered me anyway.”