Ryan Trares: No day like a snow day

I’d like to take credit for willing this week’s snowstorm into existence.

One Saturday ago, I bemoaned the lack of winter weather so far this year. We’d had barely a dusting, let alone enough to use the new sled that Anthony received for Christmas.

My complaints were answered — kind of.

Forecasts this week sent central Indiana into a frenzy, as the news reported on an approaching storm that threatened to dump 5 to 8 inches of the white stuff on our area. Every day, the prediction seemed more and more solid; it wasn’t a matter of if we’d get snow, but how much it would be.

The school week hadn’t even started when Anthony started planning his potential winter weather day. Seemingly every passing hour, he asked when the snow would come, what kind of playing could we do in it, would his school would be canceled.

We had to be careful not to get his hopes up too much. I remember the crushing disappointment of a seemingly surefire snow day that never materialized.

But by Tuesday night, all doubts were put to ease. Schools saw the same weather forecasts we did, and called for a snow day before we went to bed.

And it’s probably a good thing they did. When we woke up on Wednesday morning, the snow was barely covering the grass. Roads were slushy, not snowy. I’m not sure the school would have called off if they waited.

They did, though. All morning, Anthony stared out the window, watching the wet snow pile up and repeatedly asking when we could go outside. Finally, when enough had covered the ground, I acquiesced.

Just getting ready was a process — two pairs of pants, sweatshirt, coat, gloves, hat, boots. I got Anthony ready first, then bundled up myself; the whole time, he pranced by the door, whimpering and sighing loudly that I was taking too long.

And then we made it outside. The snow may have been slushy, but that didn’t stop our fun. The conditions were perfect for snowballs, as we made forts and ran by each other, making sneak attacks on each other with perfectly formed projectiles.

Even better, it was ideal snowman-making weather. The wet snow rolled up like a carpet, and I showed Anthony how to make a small ball first and then keep rolling, rolling, rolling, until you had the different-sized parts of his body. He loved that, and made more than a dozen practice snowmen before completing a pleasant-looking fellow with a carrot nose, stony smile and two round rocks for eyes.

We even got the sleds out to glide down the small decline in our backyard. Anthony rode his Bigmouth Silly Snowman Snow Tube over and over, eventually building up the courage to go down backwards a few times. He’d reach our fence, tumble of the sled in a fit of laughter, and start all over again.

The snowstorm we were expecting may have been a dud, but Anthony didn’t think so. The late afternoon turned into a cycle of playing outside, coming in to warm up and dry our very wet gloves and coats, then doing it all over again, until it was dark.

We’ve had our snowstorm for the winter. I think that means it’s time to bring on spring.

Ryan Trares is a senior reporter and columnist for the Daily Journal. Send comments to [email protected].

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Ryan Trares
Ryan Trares is a senior reporter and columnist at the Daily Journal. He has long reported on the opioids epidemic in Johnson County, health care, nonprofits, social services and veteran affairs. When he is not writing about arts, entertainment and lifestyle, he can be found running, exploring Indiana’s craft breweries and enjoying live music. He can be reached at [email protected] or 317-736-2727. Follow him on Twitter: @rtrares