There is nothing quite like an anticipatory snow day in the Southland. It's like church, only quieter. Nothing is happening and nobody is moving. Ordinarily, by this time of the morning, school buses would be chugging along, people would be going to work, the garbage truck would be snatching up containers with it's big, noisy claw. But even the birds are hiding.
It could not be like this in my native Iowa. You can't cease to carry on when you live in a place that is cold and snowy six months out of the year. You become inured to it, bundled up, head down, getting by. But here in the land of sunshine, where thirty degrees is a calamity, when the weatherfolk breathe the S word, life comes to a halt. And I love it!
Where else do you get out of school and work before a single flake is spotted? It fits our culture, the strong belief that there are more important things in life than making a buck. Sometimes, everybody needs a day of rest, and the unscheduled ones are the best. It's the sudden opportunity to do something out of the ordinary ---- read a novel, watch a movie, play games, clean out a closet, organize the photos, split a pot of tea and talk, paint a picture, take a nap. All the things we wish we had time for during the busy, over-scheduled days.
Yes, on TV they're making it sound like we're all going to die. Yes, there's the very real possibility that ice will bring down the power lines and life will take a sudden turn for the worse. But in the meantime, in the pause that comes before the storm, when anticipation is ascendant and anything is possible, it's good to remember that we never know what's going to happen next ---- not even on an ordinary work-a-day Wednesday ---- and there is always room for surprise.
Bring on the hot chocolate. Today, I'm tasting the sweetness of life without a plan.
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