Snow Day

Oh my God, RG, wake up!

What?!?! My pre-dawn sluggish heartbeat is suddenly racing, and I poke my showercapped head out of the hot shower into the cold bathroom air.

It’s snowing!

Oh. Here I come!

He, in pjs and flip flops, and I, in bathrobe and slippers, step onto our little porch to see the snow. Neither of us grew up in particularly wintry places, so it’s still an Event when it snows. The flakes are fat, and collecting in airy drifts on the lawn and cars. This is the South, so most of the schools are closed today, and for a few moments I dream that I am a teacher or student or administrator or something with a day off. Alas, my boss is from Wisconsin, and no amount of wimpy southern powdered sugar is going to keep us from opening.

I’m going to be late anyway because of the snow – again, this is the South, where one flake causes panic on the road and everybody drives 25. So I don’t hurry. I sit in the still dark office next to my cat, who is watching the outside world from the back of the couch. I bury my face in her fur, and she purrs, and we watch quietly for a minute. In the kitchen, the Professor is humming “Snow, snow, snow, snow, snooooooow, it won’t be long before we’ll all be there with snow” from White Christmas while he grinds the coffee beans (a sister bought him a grinder for Christmas, after reading my complaining post about not having one!) I take a deep breath – it’s been the second hectic week in a row, with work, tutoring, and play rehearsals making my days stretch to 14 hours or longer. My husband is a bit of a stranger these days, but I know it won’t last long, only a couple of months. I see the Professor for a few minutes in the morning, but he’s usually fast asleep when I get home at night, so we cram a lot of catching up in our quick mornings, while I’m making my lunch and he’s making my coffee. I try to pause a little longer this morning, and hold onto a few moments of stillness before I plunge into the helter skelter of another day.

Thursday – almost done for the week – this is usually the point in a rehearsal+work week that I become sloppy, bitchy, and quick to despair, before the weekend recharges me and makes me useful and pleasant again. I know my lovingly made coffee will perk up my energy for the long drive in, and the snowy countryside scenes on the way will soothe my jagged stressy edges. But right now, this day especially, as I look at my pajama’d husband and fluffy warm cat, I just don’t want to drive away from them. Heaving a weary sigh, I kiss the Professor and Bella good-bye and climb into the car.