January 10, 2021 — No, it’s not snowing here. I’m speaking of my conversations with my brother and sister today. Dallas got a dusting of snow. My brother sent me a photo of snow on one of the cars. My sister sent photos of her kids and dogs standing in the yard, which I guess was them playing in the snow. My sister told me all the kids were worked up about not getting a snow day if the snow stays around until tomorrow, seeing as school is still online and there’s no reason to cancel the school day for snow. But… hold on.

First a little back story.

In Dallas, snow days were the best. We hoped for them if even one flake fell from the sky, and pretty much, if that one flake fell from the sky, we go our snow day. Yes, we would have to have a day added or a teacher-in-service day taken to make up for a snow day, but those snow days were precious! Everyone on every street would be outside until the snow melted, just playing and being silly. Dogs too. Dogs loved snow days. Even my sister — a grown woman, started hoping for the snow day on about Tuesday of last week, every day texting me that the snow was staying in the forecast.

And back to this snow day possibility….

Dallas schools, somewhere, somehow, came out and said snow days in Dallas are a rite of passage, and Covid and the on-line world be damned, if there’s cause to cancel school because one flake is one ground, then by the forces of God, or whatever you believe in, they are going to have a snow day, regardless of Covid. That element of normalcy must endure!

All of that excitement over Dallas’ snow has me feeling like having my own snow day. No, I don’t really want snow, not here, now now with my dog Jasper needing me to take her outside, and no I am glad to be home, but I do think it’s pretty. And I’m not feeling musical, so I’m going with the closest thing I can find to snow.

Skating.

Here’s a really pretty skating video. They worked hard on this, and hey, it’s sort of musical in that they made their own soundtrack for it. Honestly, I think musicians and figure skaters have a similarity that nobody actually talks about; certainly that’s pictured in this video. And this woman has my skates too. Someday, I really am going to use them.

And here’s hoping all of the Dallas kids get their rite of passage snow day.

Late edit: Speaking of rites of passage, I’ve been sitting in my office (aka my laundry room), working on things I am behind on and now writing this article. My chihuahua was in here, and I was about to go check on Jasper who I thought was on the concrete floor of the living room. Only thing was, I heard the pitter patter of feet in the back yard, just outside my office door. I approached the single French door to look out, expected it to be something strange, a squirrel, not sure exactly as it’s a bit dark, but it was Jasper. Like I said, earlier she was in the living room, in which there is a dog door that leads outside. I have the dog door accessible (meaning the cover is out), probably I shouldn’t, but yesterday Jasper was interested in the dog door. I thought it was not a thing she would try. But Jasper being in the backyard means she successfully went through the dog door, then down the two stairs of the threshold to that door (I’ve had to escort her on those stairs up until now), then around the side and back of the house, including climbing the back hill, to make it to the back door. If I had known she was making this journey I would have been terrified, but wow, Jasper! That’s some serious navigation you pulled off there. So humm, perhaps snow might be fun! My dog is making the world her own despite this disability, and she always did like snow.