On being snowed in

When it snows on the East coast of North America, it makes national headlines.  When it snows in the northern midwest, nobody bats an eye, but then nobody on the East coast cares much what happens here anyway.  I have found that one's appreciation of snow is inversely proportional to the importance of getting somewhere in the midst of a blizzard.  If you have to be somewhere, you absolutely hate snow and its delaying effect, but if you don't want to go to school or don't have to be anywhere, you sit and watch it snow in anticipation or delight (this is why kids love winter and most adults abhor it).  When I had to be at work, no matter what, or had to be out working in it, I deplored snow, but I am now reacquainting myself with my childhood affectation for this wintry phenomenon.  It was predicted last night that we would get around a foot of snow with a strong wind, and though we apparently only received a third of this amount, it is a wet, heavy snow that was preceded by freezing rain while the wind was just as promised, resulting in a veritable freeze in daily life until the storm has blown itself out and we ants can go about clearing our driveways and roads of hazardous precipitation.  Meanwhile, we get to experience what I have not had since childhood: a veritable snow day!  So break out the board games, the videos, the hot chocolate, and stay in your pajamas to make the most of it.  One wonders if American family life would be in a far better state if we were all forced to be snowed in with our loved ones more often?