It’s that most wonderful time of the year! The day before a possible snow day! The anticipation is building! This morning as soon as my son woke up, I informed him of the news—“Snow Expected Tomorrow!” Overjoyed, he set off to prepare. He had been awaiting this moment all winter. He returned with a pair of brand new snow shoes (we got them in the fall when our hopes were still high that the winter would be snowy and awful, but he hadn’t yet had a chance to use them), a pair of snow pants from his cousin in Nebraska (they still fit!) and a coat.

“How much do you think we’ll get?”

“There’ll be a lot,” I replied, graciously.

“A foot?” he said, hopefully.

“Probably more like 2 inches,” I said.

“Awwwww, man!”

He disappeared with his stuff, prepared to hunker down with a book to wait out the passage of the good weather until the arrival of snow.

 On the rare snow day in Raleigh when school is cancelled, we head to a gentle slope in our neighborhood where we run our sleds along with other kids. It’s not a very steep one, but you never know how far you’ll go toward the woods that back up the property. In between, kids in the neighborhood gather in yards and in a common area for snow ball fights. And one year, some of the parents got together and built an igloo! Yes, right here in Raleigh! This year, my older son is planning a new activity: a football game in the snow.

Everyone has a snow day tradition. My neighbor always keeps a snowball from every previous winter’s snow in her fridge until Thanksgiving. We like to attach an old leather dog leash to a saucer sled and give each other rides—one person pulling and the other sitting.

When the kids have been out for a while, I call them in for hot chocolate and marshmallows. Snowy clothes and damp socks generally mean the washer and dryer keeps going more than usual, and there are wet boots constantly drying in the kitchen. But the exhilaration of being outdoors and playing with friends and neighbors leaves a warm feeling inside.