Snow Day!

Some people get the day off following a big snowfall fairly regularly, but it has been a rare occurrence for me. But I got one last week, and enjoyed the absolute heck out of it!

When I was a kid in northern Indiana, there was nothing better than a snow day. For those who live in warmer climes, a snow day was a day that saw enough snow that schools would be closed. Because snow was a regular occurrence, and because we were in the city (in an era where most kids walked to their neighborhood schools) school did not get cancelled very often. So the ritual early on a snowy morning, we kids would listen to the announcers on WOWO read off the list of school systems that would be closed for the day.

As an adult, however, I rarely got to experience the full-on snow day of my youth. This was mainly because I chose a career in which all the work on my desk would have to be finished whether I was snowed in or not, so a day or two out of the office on account of snow just led to other days of working late or on weekends to catch up. This led me to usually take work home with me the night before a big snow was expected.

Since I retired from the tyranny of “The Office” and have donned the bluer collar of driving for a living, we have had a couple of mild winters and the snow day has been something confined to the imagination. But then came last week, and I finally got my day!

It helped that my normal schedule includes weekends, a day that my company (and the large company we contract with) largely considers as “extra work” rather than “normal work”. This means that drivers on a regular schedule have to work weekend days every several weeks because things have been busy for the last year or more. So when the routine Friday evening text message chain went out to those working last weekend, I got a heads up that no work would be scheduled on Sunday. So while most others got a regular Sunday off, I got a snow day!

I have decided that a snow day now is still as great as it was when I was a kid. First, because it was called in advance, I got to sleep in. Then I got to have a leisurely morning of whatever I wanted to do. “Want to do” is a key concept, because a snow day should should be filled with “want to do” things and not “have to do” things. So I did my best.

One thing I had forgotten – you can go through a lot of dishes on a snow day because there is much cooking and baking done. In our case, the day included a pound of bacon a batch of the homemade waffles from the recipe my mother used to use. I have joked about my mother’s challenges in the kitchen, but that scratch waffle recipe was a hands-down winner that had Marianne and I luxuriating in a delicious late breakfast.

After that there were movies to watch and brownies to bake and a proper lazy day was had by all. However, all good things must come to an end, and a snow day often requires one member of the household (guess who) to do something about the accumulation of snow in the driveway.

My trusty Toro snowblower is something north of 30 years old, and is in dire need of some refurbishment. Aside from it being time to replace the rubber paddles again (those things that make the snow blower actually blow snow), other things like the electric start and the primer bulb are no longer working. But a shot of carburetor cleaner gives the thing enough of a combustable jolt that it will fire after a couple of pulls on the rope.

The 8-10 inches of snow in the driveway, even when very light, dry and powdery, were at the ragged edge of my Toro’s ability to blow the stuff. Fortunately, Marianne told me to not have a heart attack out there and so I didn’t. Because I always listen to my wife. An hour or so later, I had enough of the driveway clear to get a car out for the next day, and my one necessary job was done.

I recognize that there are others who are called out to work when snow gets bad, including one guy who is a regular reader here. Some operate snowplows, some are first responders or those who staff hospital ERs, and a snow day is a bad day for them and not the good day it was for me. However, I will let those folks blog about their own stories and I will blog about how much I enjoyed my rare unexpected day off.

Alas, it was soon over because Monday morning came and off to work I went. Prematurely, as it turned out, because the places I needed to drive were closed. Probably because not everyone is the kind of hardy soul that staffs my own company. The world is too soft. So, after getting my truck fired up and cleaned off, I sat in it for a few hours before we were told to head home. Fortunately, I was up to the task and cozied up under a blanket to watch “The Godfather” for the rest of the afternoon.

I could get very, very used to snow days.

Photo by the author, depicting the end results of the determined combination of an aging snow blower and an aging snow blower operator.

37 thoughts on “Snow Day!”

  1. That sounds like a very good day, indeed! Now you have me hankering for warm brownies and bacon – or maybe brownies that have crumbled bacon in them.

    Sounds like you got about 3″ to 4″ more than we did. I’m glad to have escaped the ice that hit down south.

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    • The snow came with unusually cold temps (near zero F) so it was extremely dry and fine. That made it worthless for snowballs or snowmen (pretty irrelevant to me at this stage of life) but easier for the snowblower to handle. Yes, the ice would have been no joke. And the kinds of ice that bring down powerlines would have been devastating in the frigid temps we have been experiencing. My phone tells me it is -1 as I type this.

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    • My late in-laws retired from the Chicago suburbs to northern Arkansas 30 years ago and one of the first things they noticed was that winter storms meant ice instead of snow. They lived in the Ozark foothills and learned to prepare to be stuck at home for long periods of time, although one year a storm hit just after Christmas and they weren’t able to get home after spending the holidays back north. They wound up spending nearly a week in a hotel in town.

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  2. It’s never a good thing to waste a day off doing chores.
    You highlighted a drawback to whiter-collar work. Unless the internet goes down, the room-to-room commute isn’t affected by the snow.

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  3. J.P., now that you’re a truck drivin’ manly man you need a better snowblower. Ditch that rubber-paddle Playskool model for a nice 2-stage; it’ll probably be more than you need but you’ll impress the neighbors. Especially the hot divorcees. ;^)

    The best Snow Day I ever had was actually almost a Snow Week. Back in the winter of 1978-79 (as opposed to ’78-79, when Rutherford B. Hayes was President) northern Illinois got repeatedly slammed and after one particular storm my high school was closed from Monday through Thursday. And I can’t imagine we were all that productive when we went back that Friday, either. My dad plowed snow back then and we barely saw him that week, as he was out working during the wee hours and sleeping during the day. (“Be quiet! Your father’s trying to sleep!”) I remember playing a LOT of Coleco Electronic Football down in the basement.

    Hey, there’s a pound of thawed bacon in the fridge…

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    • Oh, I remember the January of 1978 blizzard in Fort Wayne, all right! We were out of school for a week as well, which was something unheard of for my school system. It took us days to shovel out.

      I have thought about a “real” snow blower, but in my current location, the one I have takes care of about 95% of the snowfalls we get, and the bigger ones just need me to get out and hit it once while the snow is still falling in order to stay ahead of it. My other problem is that I am spoiled keeping two cars in a two-car garage, and storage space is at a premium.

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  4. I can’t remember exactly, but I think I didn’t mind winter 2024/2025 too much. We got very little snow as I recall. But winter 2025/2026 is getting on my nerves. In addition to the snow, it’s been frigid outside. Spring can’t arrive soon enough.

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  5. We got a lot of snow in Alberta in December – we use a tractor to clear our rural driveway. Our new neighbour does not have a tractor yet, but felt confident his snow blower would keep his driveway clear. (As a police officer, he does not have the luxury of taking a snow day.) He now has the keypad number to the garage where we keep our tractor – his snow blower does not like compacted three foot drifts of snow!

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  6. There is no greater joy than being retired, and having a covered parking area. Snowing? Just stay home. It’s one of the things I like most about retirement. Even when it’s sub-zero, I rarely go out. It’s rarely sub-zero any more, not like the 60’s and 70’s. The recent sub zero temperature, I stayed home for 3 or 4 days in a row. I like print media, and hate reading online. I earmark $100 a year for magazine subscriptions: Down Beat Jazz, The Smithsonian and others I get deals on. Why do I mention this? Because when I’m staying home snug and cozy, the mailman is delivering my reading material! During my latest hiatus, I was delivered Down Beat, The Smithsonian, Town and Country, and Harpers Bazaar. Plenty to read without turning on a computer or dipping my toe outside!

    As a current Wisconsinite, I can say that Brad Olson is correct about the 2-stage blower, the Cadillac of snow removal! The snow levels are so reduced over the last number of years, that you are also correct that the small, single stage units can handle most of it. I have more than a few friends that are also starting to use battery snow blowers to great effect and ease of use. You are also correct about Toro, tho; the American gold standard of yard equipment for long term repair. The small Ace Hardware in my parents neighborhood sold and repaired all Toro equipment, ad infinitum, and even had a pick-up and deliver service for the equipment for those tough old German hausfrau’s that were keeping their houses up after the old man passes on!

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  7. I did hear that Indiana got walloped with snow. Sunday we just got seven inches of the white stuff, but we are dealing with these incessant brutally cold temps. Snow days are fun. Your snow day sounds cozy, not to mention delicious! I remember my last year of college (1978) and the Blizzard of ’78 when the City of Detroit was paralyzed by that snowstorm which took about a week to get things plowed and back to normal. I was ecstatic and back then, of course, there was no remoting into classes – computers weren’t a thing yet – what a treat. We didn’t get “Winter Break” days off then either. Our schools in my area are out of their six allotted snow days and they want an exemption so they don’t have to extend the school year and hold classes in June. They close not only for snow but if the windchill is -20 or lower. I am sure I walked to school in very cold and snowy weather, a mile each way (strait, not uphill) for six years (junior high and high school) and in junior high we had a dress code – no pants, but I wore them under my dresses/skirts to walk.

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  8. We got about 15″ between Sunday morning and Tuesday morning. This necessitated the somewhat rare “double snowblowing” session. I have an 8hp Ariens which ought to be up to the task of serious snow, but once we get upwards of a foot it’s best to do one pass when it’s under a foot on the driveway, and then another to get whatever portion of a foot is left (and then yet again if it’s more than 24″, which I don’t even want to think about now).

    I say “ought to be” since my machine is also headed into its 3rd decade of service and starting last summer I’ve been engaged in the nation’s longest mechanical overhaul of a small engine (and attached metal)…as only a dedicated procrastinator can achieve. So, I’ve replaced the carb, fuel lines (and primer bulb), throttle plate, etc., while using it for the less than massive snow storms we’d received prior to last week. I got everything nearly buttoned up last week, except for the engine speed control spring which I decided 2 days before the needed replacing. After trying to find one locally (good luck, bud…) I broke down and ordered one from that place that I pay to deliver things to me overnight. Naturally, it got stranded somewhere on some truck or in some warehouse half a continent away, stuck in the massive storm. Fortunately the existing (nearly 30 year old) spring defied my fears and held up just fine. Now I just have to get the new ones installed before the “next” storm.

    But other than that, it was absolutely fine to take a full day to read the NYT in front of the fire.

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    • My leisure time for work in the garage was in short supply this past summer, so I am jealous of your slo-mo snowblower refurb. Mine needs new rubber paddles to really work well. Everything else I can work around.

      Your way to spend a snow day sounds great. I could luxuriate in a Sunday NTY crossword puzzle. Here’s a secret – I dropped my WSJ subscription (even the cheap online kind) but I can still do the daily and Saturday crosswords online.

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  10. Your driveway looks “adequate”. I’m okay with adequate…..if I can drive over it it’s all good. Unfortunately I can no longer shovel due to my heart surgery, (not a good idea with 7 rings holding my sternum together), and my normal snowshoveller was away on vacation, so my cousin skied down the river trail to shovel me out! We didn’t get as much as you – maybe 5 or 6 inches (10-15cm) where I am, although many parts of the province got a lot more – downtown Toronto got a record 50cm over 2 ft.

    Snow days when I was a kid were few and far between,(maybe 2 or 3?) but now they cancel the buses (and sometimes close the schools for those who could walk) at the first sign of a snowflake. In some counties in the snowbelt areas the kids have already had 14 snow days this winter. It’s not just that the buses can’t run, it’s the teachers who have to get in too. They usually assign work at home like in the pandemic, so I’m not sure how much of a real snow day it is for the kids.

    Snow days at work were rare for me too – healthcare workers are expected to drive in anything, and if you didn’t go in they would lay the guilt trip on you. I remember the HR dept once sending out a nasty memo that not being able to drive out of your driveway or street was not an acceptable excuse! Of course none of the admin. people every made it in….and no one noticed. I saw a notice on Facebook that Chapman’s Ice Cream had circulated a notice that the Sunday shifts were cancelled and employees were to stay home! I found that very impressive. When I worked at the small rural hospital, they were more considerate, if the snowstorm came up while at work, then often the existing nursing shift would stay on, and/or they would send the snowmobiles out to gather those that lived in town. The ER dept would be busier than ever, as all the car accidents would pile in from the people who should have stayed home!

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    • It just now occurs to me – when we were young, almost nobody had 4×4 vehicles yet snow days were rare. Now 4x4s are everywhere and so are snow days. Kids today! 😄

      My sister lives on a farm and commutes 50 miles one way to a nursing job, something she’s done for close to 40 years. Which is why she’s had stick shift Jeeps for most of that time. On really bad days her husband drives her in the 4×4 farm truck.

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      • See dedicated nursing staff! A lot of that is due to not wanting to let your colleagues down….and the patients if no one gets in. I love being retired when it’s snowing out! I often wonder how I did it all those years, without snow tires too which everyone seems to have now.

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  12. I hated shoveling snow and chopping ice as a kid, but always shovel the driveway now, even though I know we are not driving anywhere because our side street on a hill is rarely plowed. My wife also tells me not to bother, especially since there is apparently a correlation between shoveling snow and heart attacks as we age. But the ritual seems invigorating.

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  13. The only time our kids cared about the evening news was when there was potential for a snow day. Colorado school districts were smart enough to make the call the night before. Sometimes “snow days” had less to do with snow and more to do with the risk of kids standing outside in single-digit temps waiting for the bus. We don’t miss any of it, as we’ve been reminded the last day or two. We had an inch or two from the latest storm, remarkable for western South Carolina. Nearby Augusta (GA) got 3.5″, a total they haven’t seen in something like fifty years. Maybe the best part about the South is how quickly it’ll all go away on its own. The ground just sucks up any moisture it can get. No shoveling, which is a blessing because we don’t have a snow shovel anymore!

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  14. RE: snowblowers. Several have mentioned heart attacks. I used to have an old Toro S200 paddle machine probably just like yours. About a year after we moved from Chicagoland to central Illinois in 2000, I mentioned to an old friend that I couldn’t justify buying a 2 stage machine, as we usually didn’t have the kind of snow that we were used to in N. Illinois. He said “maybe this will help you justify it –remember Kevin H, our old neighbor, well he died of a heart attack while shoveling his driveway last month.” The wife heard this and went out and bought a Craftsman 5 hp electric start 2 stage machine. Some years it doesn’t get used at all, but this year I’ve used it twice, and it really is a pleasure – our most recent snow was over 14 inches unofficially at my house. Now that I think about it, that machine is now 24 years old!

    Another snow day story – in the late 90’s I worked for a company headquartered near O’Hare, and I lived in the NW suburbs, a distance of about 13 miles (in Chicago one doesn’t measure by miles but rather by minutes, said commute could be anywhere from 20 to 90 minutes depending upon road conditions). One winter we had a major snowstorm and many people did not make it to the office. I of course made it – with a 2WD Chevy Suburban! A few days later corporate mgmt sent out a memo that due to the inclement weather, those that were unable to make it to the office would NOT be charged a vacation day. Those of us who made it to work got nothing, except thanks for the effort. That turned out to be the beginning of the end of my career at that company. HA.

    One piece of advice. To anyone who lives in an area that gets very cold. Get a set of insulated coveralls. Carhart, Aramark/Vestis, many companies make them. I keep these in my vehicle once winter starts in the event of getting stranded on the road. At the risk of TMI, the only thing I need wear underneath are a tshirt and briefs when removing snow or doing anything outside in very cold weather. If your life’s worth $150, I highly recommend investing in a high quality pair.

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  15. We received about 14 inches, and it was very light, fluffy snow. We don’t have a snowblower – my parents had one, and what I remember is that there would be a year or two without any serious snowstorms, so the snowblower sat unused. Then, when a storm did hit, the snowblower…didn’t work. I used this storm as an opportunity to get some good exercise.

    I remember January 1978. It sticks in my mind that southcentral Pennsylvania was walloped by two major storms in less than a week. We were home from school for several days!

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    • That seems to be a common problem with seldom-used snow blowers. I always start mine on a warm day later in the fall, then run the gas out of it in the spring. I remember one year when I had to haul it into the kitchen for a couple of hours to get it warm enough to start.

      Yes, 1978 was one to remember!

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