Snow days mean different things to different people. My older boys ask me to look at the extended forecast every day about the same time I start kindly suggesting that they put on a jacket, or at least, substitute their shorts for pants. At the slightest sign of moisture…or, even a picture of a cloud, they lick their lips, rub their little hands together and start plotting their snow day fun: no school, friends, hot chocolate, movies. Sounds sublime, right?
A snow day here or there leaves most parents with similar cozy feelings. However, the snow days start to lose their magic as the winter drags on (especially on the snow days without any snow) and pent-up “energetic” children slowly start to start to destroy houses (or quickly if there is no actual snow to play in), work deadlines are missed, exercise goes out the window and everyone’s sanity teeters on edge. If you have not deleted Winter of 2014 from your memory bank, you know exactly what I mean.
However, have you ever stopped to think about the kids who rely on their school to eat breakfast and lunch? The kids who rely on BPB to provide sustenance when school is out? I will be perfectly honest. Until Parker asked me to write this blog, I had not thought about it. Even a school delay can result in a missed meal.
This is a real issue and a hard one to solve. When you consider the uncertainty of the weather and layer on the uncertainty of closing/delay decisions made by school officials, ensuring children receive nutritious meals can be quite challenging. BPB makes every possible adjustment in their backpack schedule when the forecast dictates that school may be missed, but this can leave them scrounging for volunteers to get everything completed in the necessary timeframe.
It is something to think about as we enter Winter 2015. Let’s hope we paid our dues last year and this one won’t be quite as brutal. But if snow is in the forecast and you see an urgent call for volunteers and can give some time, you will know you are helping a child somewhere get through their own significant snow day challenges. And when you donate supplies, you are not only helping these kids during planned days off from school, but also the unplanned ones.
It sure gives me a fresh perspective on my own snow day challenges.
Written on 1/18/2015 by Blogger Courtney Murphy
