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Broke Wife, Big City
Snow
day but today
By Aprill Brandon
It begins with a whisper. A mere whisper of a rumor. Riding on the
coattails of a rising and moaning wind. But it’s enough. Just enough to
light a tiny spark of hope against the unrelenting bleakness of a
neverending winter.
But since nothing is in writing yet, it’s business as usual for the
moment. You head up to your room, almost giddy. You haven’t felt this
kind of anticipation since Christmas Eve, which feels like an entire
lifetime ago. You told yourself you weren’t going to do this but the
urge is just too delicious to resist. So as your head hits the pillow,
you allow yourself one small maybe. Not likely, no. Slim chance and all
that. But...maybe.
Then the what-ifs come quickly galloping in. What if, though? What if
it actually happens? All that time, that unstructured time, stretched
out before you.
What if...
Before you know it, your eyes snap open. A brief moment of confusion in
the dark and then you remember. You scramble out of the intricate
tangle of blankets. You run to the window and allow yourself one
furtive glance outside. A wall of beautiful white battling the dark sky
greets your eyes. You give your thumping heart permission for one small
leap.
Maybe indeed.
It’s the only time the news is actually relevant to your life. Boring
people saying boring things. But underneath them are the slow and
sacred scrolling words that hold the key.
Please, PLEASE, you quietly breathe to yourself in the blackness of
pre-dawn. Most days you can’t bother to wake up before the sun. But not
today. The stakes are too high. You can’t risk missing a moment of this
potentially epic day.
You just need a break. From the daily grind. From the expectations.
From, let’s face it, life.
Sure, you’re only 8-years-old, but are you not human too?
They’re only up to the B’s. Who knew there were this many places that
started with the letter B? It boggles the mind. You know it will be
many, many long minutes before they get to the words you are
oh-so-desperate to see. But still, you barely allow yourself to blink.
After what feels like a lifetime, and maybe it is (you are only 8
afterall), there they are. Those beautiful, beautiful words floating
past, practically smiling at you.
YOUR SCHOOL: CANCELLED.
You erupt into a cheer and run around the living room, arms raised
above your head, releasing all that pent-up anticipation in a series of
feral whoops.
A snow day. SNOW DAY! An entire day off. Just for you. An unexpected
holiday gifted to you from the very weather gods themselves.
And to thank them for this gift, you promise not to waste a second of
this beautiful gift.
Cut to 30 years later. You are now a parent yourself. While making
dinner (that, let’s face it, no one is going to eat), you hear it
again. It’s been a long time since you’ve heard it, but you could never
forget the sound of that whisper. Ten inches predicted overnight. Maybe…
What if…
You need this. You need an unexpected day off to remember what’s
important. To remember that life is not just one long march forward
going to the places you are supposed to go and doing the things you are
supposed to do. That it isn’t just putting pants on tiny squirming
resistant legs and screaming at your children for the seventh time to
brush their teeth because you are going to be LATE FOR SCHOOL. AGAIN.
You allow yourself to look out the window. Nothing yet. You sigh and
stir the spaghetti.
Just one day off, you plead to the air. One day off where you aren’t
required to do anything because you weren’t supposed to have it off
anyway. Please.
Suddenly your phone dings. Then pings. Then vibrates. An email.
Followed by a text. Followed by a voicemail.
School is cancelled.
A bit anticlimactic, sure. Not like the old days. But still, at least
three fourths of that old feeling of pure joy still comes through.
Thank you, weather gods. I promise not to waste a moment of this
beautiful gift.
Starting with no one is wearing pants today.
Can’t get enough of Aprill? Can’t wait until next week?
Check out her website at http://aprillbrandon.com/
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