We’ve had snow this season, but yesterday was the first day things were actually canceled. It was a snow day for schools, and when that happens in the district where my work office is located, we’re work from home. I really enjoyed that yesterday.
When I was growing up, snow days unfolded differently. We had to wait and watch the news to find out whether our school district would be closed. You’d tune in and stare at a scrolling list of district names, holding your breath, hoping that yours would finally appear.
In the region where I grew up, the same song always played during that scrolling list: Chuck Mangione’s Bellavia. Every single time.
To this day, whenever I hear that song — and let’s be honest, now I usually have to look it up because it’s not exactly playing on the news anymore — I’m instantly filled with childhood joy. There’s something about it that takes me right back to that feeling of anticipation, possibility, and elation.
Last night, I put it on and danced around my house.
Some memories don’t fade. They just wait patiently for the right moment — like the first snow day.
Smuggling Grace 