Snow Days

I'm going to talk about snow days.
Think back to the first time you remember school cancelling for snow. You were probably in elementary school, and the news was just about the best thing you could imagine. Your mom bundled up you and whatever assorted siblings you have and sent you out in the elements to play. You built snow forts and snow men, made snow balls and snow angels, got snow in your clothes and turned icicles into deadly weapons. And when you were done, Mom brought you all in, got you out of dripping clothes, and made hot chocolate to thaw your red and stinging faces.
It's a wonderful memory, a greeting card sweet piece of childhood freedom. But what are snow days now?
You sleep in late, then crawl out of bed to lounge on the couch watching tv or a movie, eating junk food. Or maybe you call up friends and spend the day out, because despite the fact the roads are too bad for school, nothing is too treacherous to keep teenagers from having a good time. After the first few snow days of the year, everyone's Facebook pages are littered with complaints.
"Come on, not another snow day!"
"They're taking away our summer!"
"It's not even that bad out..."
"This is getting out of hand..."
Somewhere along the line, snow days have turned from wonderful, magical days of carefree fun into irritating days we don't quite know how to fill. When did that happen?
Thanks for listening
M (//_^)