Calli's Corner: Embrace the snow day
The other day, my mom sent a text in our family group chat that said, “How do you like my snowman? ☃️❄️”
I scrolled up to see the photo attached to the message.
She was kneeling proudly beside her three-tiered snowman with a pine cone mouth and a yellow golf ball nose.
I smiled to myself when I saw it. I was picturing my mom wearing her purple coat that’s probably older than me, by herself in her backyard with no kids at home, rolling, packing, and piling up the snow.
I asked what inspired her to build a snowman. After all, she hates being cold and I wouldn’t think bending over to build a snowman would help her arthritic back.
“We were shoveling and then I threw a snowball at dad and loved how the snow packed so I thought it was the perfect snow to build him!” she replied.
A snowman and a snowball fight? Apparently, she was having quite the snow day, and it made me happy.
Before receiving my mom’s text, I was browsing Twitter, checking to see which games would be canceled. More than just games, I saw that a majority of practices also were canceled, and I later saw several pictures of athletes building their own snowmen and enjoying their day off. That made me happy too.
With conference titles on the line and championship season quickly approaching, it’d be easy to squeeze in one more practice or offer one more open gym session. I get it. Days off can feel like days wasted and when it’s crunch time, there aren’t days to waste.
But at the same time, I wonder how much more productive a day spent in the snow rather than in the gym could actually be.
It’s a time to be creative, to get fresh air, to just be a kid again. It’s a time to escape the pressure of school and sports. It’s a time of peace and quiet.
I don’t know how the snow does it, but I love how it makes the surrounding nature nearly silent. Everything feels slower and softer. And couldn’t we all use more of that every once in a while? Slow, soft silence?
I hope the snow days served us well this week. I hope teams will return to action well-rested and ready for the intense remainder of their seasons. I hope the snowmen will stick around for a while too, and the next time we have a storm, more will be built by 5-year-olds and 50-year-olds alike and everyone else in between.
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For in-game updates and other news, follow Calli on Twitter @ newberry_calli
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