The Abuzz Before the Storm
They're currently predicting a winter storm to be hitting the Chicago area starting late this evening. Everyone here at the college is all a buzz about it. So much so that it reminds me of how it was back when I was in grade school. The anticipation of knowing that you might get an impromptu day off school and all of the "we're gonna do this with our day off" planning that happens in the meantime.
Sometimes the snow didn't materialize. You'd wake up and the first thing you do is run for the window to see if the snow showed up only to be disappointed that it had decided to visit elsewhere, granting the wishes of school childern more deserving. Dejected you'd make your way to the kitchen table to watch cartoons and choke back some dry cereal in silence.
But then there were the days when father precip smiled on you. Snow had fallen and your quick look out the window was immediately followed with a run to the backdoor to verify the snowfall was of a substantial quantity. For the last part of the ritual, you turned on the local talk radio station and listened intently, praying to hear the name of your school listed among those closed.
Once your prayers were answered, anxiety was quickly replaced with relief - the world, at least for today, would be your oyster.