Thursday, January 20, 2011

13 Snow days later....

   13 snow days later I am feeling overwhelmed... Two weeks ago my Principal calls me over the intercom and tells me to, "LEAVE NOW, THE SNOW IS COMING!" I quickly gather my things and head out. Why does she call me and tell me to get out? I live 30 minutes away from my school. I drive West and the weather always comes in from the West. 




   I get home just in the nick of time. The snow turns into 7 inches and counting for my area of Tennessee. The childhood joy of knowing that I will awake to a snow day in the morning makes me jump. Though I am still an apartment dweller and have no yard, snow is still awesome.... Until I realize that in my quick departure I left one of my most important possessions..... my planner!! 
   The snow event turned into 7 snow days. We had 6 before on the heels of Christmas break. I finally drove the 30 minutes back to the school to retrieve my book and get things prepared in my room on the one day they opened. I was relieved to see many other teachers there who had also caught cabin fever. 
  Now 13 snow days later and and gazing out the window of the third snow event to hit Tennessee I give you a glimpse into my planner....


   Now with 13 snow days and more to come, we are out of days!! We will now begin to tack off days of our spring break. Many of you in the North may wonder what the fuss is about. 
   It doesn't snow much in Tennessee. I mean that it doesn't snow constantly. It was odd to have snow days in December. We often get hit maybe once with a huge snow event that happens in late January and early February. Therefor, our state and counties do not spend tons of money on huge equipment to clear roads. Not worth it if it doesn't happen that often. So we have many built in days. My school system even goes 30 extra minutes everyday just to be able to have the # of snow days we are allowed. 
  So I may not have a Spring break this year, but at least I came home prepared for the long spring semester! 


6 comments:

  1. You poor thing 13 days. I think that is a lot! We just had the snow in Kansas that is heading your way. Good luck!
    I was wondering if you mind driving on the snow packed streets? When I grew up my first day in drivers ed I started on a patch of ice. Best lesson I ever learned!
    Hang in there! Build a snow sculpture and post it for us to see!

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  2. Oh, Lordy, what a mess for you in the south. I do not ski, snowboard, snowmobile, etc, yet I'm happy to live in the north. When I got home tonight after dark our drifts of crystalline snow were sparking, with lovely shadows from the trees spreading on the banks of snow. Beautiful. I love to see it, but am happy to stay indoors!
    We missed only one day of school, because we expect the weather, and have the equipment. The side roads can be a little tricky, but the main roads are totally clear. And if you spend a lot of time in the car, like me, having all-wheel-drive and standard transmission are really helpful. We won't see the ground for some time now. Our snow is here to stay. It's ice that scares us...

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  3. When I taught in Iowa, I always looked forward to that early morning call that meant I could climb back into my warm bed! Now that I live in the desert Southwest, no chance of that happening. Stay warm & enjoy the extra blogging & planning time...

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  4. Kszwahl, I haven't had a good snow driving lesson, but anytime I've hydroplaned a little I've been able to control it. We get ICE really bad here. The picture on the blog is really an ICE covered road that our county look out person took on a back round.
    Phyl, your snow sounds beautiful! We have an inch out there now, but it's enough to spread a sheet of ice on the roads that aren't salted. So not too pretty.
    I am looking forward to the early morning text message and laying my head back on the pillow. It's when the sun is shinning in the spring and my family is on vacation and I can't go that's disheartening.
    But I will make the most out of all these snow days!! Determination!

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  5. Yesterday when I got home I posted a few photos I took in my school parking lot on my way to the car. They aren't great photos, but come check them out! And I just heard we're getting more snow tomorrow. Hopefully just not at commute time of day.

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  6. I am jealous of all of you!! I haven't had one snow day yet!! And I'm from Buffalo!.... we have schools already canceled for tomorrow, but alas, we always like to be either the district that still goes to work, or waits till the last second... Stay warm!!! The map shows pretty much from Texas to Maine will be hit!

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