Well it’s finally happened! The first snow day of the year! This event (aside from Christmas and New Years) is probably the single most anticipated day of winter.

I remember waking up when I was little, rushing to the window overlooking the street and inspecting the ground to see if there had been a substantial snow fall the night before. If the snowfall seemed substantial I would rush downstairs like a madman, stampede through the kitchen towards the radio, and crank the poor sucker up to full volume, awaiting my favorite station: The traffic report. Kneeling in front of the archaic boombox that served as our radio I clutched the sides of it until my knuckles turned white, then I waited for it to happen. The report, the newscast that would announce the cancellation of all the buses in our region.

Freedom! Shoving the boombox aside, I would pull my sister up off the radiator and we would dance thump, pound, jump around the kitchen, reveling in our unexpected day off!

Of course mum would always ask me and my sister if we wanted to go to school if a snow day happened to come around. Because technically we could have gone seeing as we live only a couple streets away from the school. But, the biggest perk of living in a small town is having  75% of school students arriving to school by bus. So when a snow day comes, none of the kids who live in town (including myself) bother to come, because no one will be there. Trust me, once in the eighth grade I decided to come on a snow day just for kicks and only about five of us (in my class) bothered to show up…Not as much fun as it sounds.

There was, however, one morning when I forwent this ritual, I don’t quite know what was wrong with me, I’m usually quite good at sniffing out a snow day, however this morning I pried myself out of bed, had breakfast and got ready for school as usual.

Then when the appointed hour approached, me and my sister pulled and tugged on our winter attire. My ensemble consisted of a very cool  and very pink parka-esk coat, complete with fur lined hood (I was a very stylish fifth grader) which gave me the added girth of a baby walrus, perfect for keeping out the cold. I also had this amazing pink hat that was cylindrical in shape and quite frankly was quite strange. Last but not least… snow pants! No childhood can be complete without them! Mine were the generic navy blue kind with the suspender straps, nothing compared to my sister’s Julia’s snow pants. She really took the cake with hers, they were bright pink. Not just pink bright pink…now those were something special. On the upside, you could never lose her in a crowd!

So after pulling on our gear we walked- er waddled to the car, squeezed into the car and after a lengthy battle with our seatbelts, we were ready to go! So on went the car, and coincidentally so did the radio. What did I hear? That’s right! I heard the broadcast. All the buses in our region were cancelled for the day! So me and Julia got out of the car and ran waddled back into the house pulled off our winter gear and danced around the kitchen ecstatic about our surprise snow day!

So you can imagine my joy yesterday as I awoke to the news that the buses were cancelled and I could sleep in. I was, of course, given the option of going, but because I am blessed with living in a small town, there really was no point! I guess I wasn’t the only student waiting for a snow day because today when I went back to school we were told that only twelve people came to school in total… I made the right decision! I don’t think anyone in my grade came because with the joy of yesterday’s snow day came the nostalgic sadness that this might be our last snow day because I’m pretty sure post-secondary schools don’t condone “snow days” as legitimate reasons to skip class… :P

The ironic thing about yesterday’s “snow day” was that there was hardly a centimetre of snow on the ground. True, it had been freezing rain the night before so everything was covered in a slick covering of ice that justified the day off, it just seems funny to call it a “snow day,” I think I’ll call it an “ice day.” Of course today when I woke up there was a legit blizzard happening outside my window, but were the buses cancelled? Nope! Ce la Vie I guess! :;)

Evidence of last nights rainfall

Scraping ice off the car- the only real job that needs to be done on a snow day ;)

Apparently I find the work…amusing?

Using the ‘fun end’ of the scraper :P

I had to add this for laughs! I’m not wearing my eskimo/baby walrus coat, but I am wearing the “coolest” hat ever… This photo is proof why you shouldn’t let your 7 year old wear her favourite clothes…because this happens :P

Well it’s that time of year again, two weeks today it will be Christmas eve!  Of course, you wouldn’t be able to tell, seeing as the grass is still green, the rain relentlessly falls and there is no snow in sight. This isn’t Florida; we should have snow!

Sure we have had some snow,  we even had snow yesterday; I watched it fall and everything, then WHAM! The temperature soared and right before my very eyes the snow turned to rain and the rain washed the snow away. I was really quite sad.

So, now I fear I am in denial. There is snow…it’s just not here. However, I am not the only one in denial, today while walking downtown I heard the strange yet familiar sound of swishing snow-pant fabric. You know what I’m talking about right? The ear-shattering swish of crinkly snow-pant fabric. Surely I must be imagining things! The sun is shining, the grass is STILL green. But, lo and behold I lifted my gaze and passed a woman dressed from head to toe in a (prepare yourselves) powder-blue snowsuit. Yep. Powder blue. Not that there is anything wrong with a powder blue snowsuit, but the fact that there was (and is still) a complete lack of snow and this woman was dressed for a blizzard still continues to astound me. Where was she going? Alaska? Nope. It seems she had an appointment at the optometrist’s and she felt the sudden urge to don her winter apparel. Whatever floats your boat I guess….though I daresay she must have felt the heat after a day in that getup!

The future. It’s daunting. It’s unknown. It’s…well, the future. I know I’m not alone in saying that the future can be a scary place.

I’ve been praying a lot lately about my future. Asking God about the path I should take. What I should do after high school, where I should go. In turn I’ve also had to learn about letting go. Letting go of fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of taking chances, fear of failure.

I was reading today in my devotional and it just so happened that the  verse today was Jeremiah 29:11. This verse has come to me so many times in the last few weeks that I know God is talking to me through this verse.  I really enjoyed the devotional that went along with the verse so I decided to post it up on here for you all to enjoy!

Jeremiah 29:11:  For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Novelist Sinclair Lewis was scheduled to deliver an hour- long lecture to a group of college students who planned to be writers. Lewis opened his lecture with one question, “How many of you really intend to be writers?” All hands went into the air. “In that case,” said Lewis, “my advice to you is to go home and write.” With that, he left.

Sometime’s whether you feel qualified or not, you’ve just got to go for it. You’ve got to go after your goals with everything in you. No matter the odds. No matter what your critics say. No matter how you’re feeling, just go for it!

The good news is- as a Christian, you don’t have to go after these goals alone. God promises that He will never leave you not forsake you. Many people dream dreams, but they never take action to make those dreams a reality. Some say: “But, what if I miss God?” What if I get out of his will?” Don’t let fear of failure or worry of missing God keep you immobilized when i comes to pursuing your dreams. Go after them!

The word of God says that the steps of a righteous man are ordered of God. So go ahead. Walk with God, and walk in your dreams. Aim high, for nothing is impossible  with God.