Snow days, grilled cheese and tomato soup

And we got a snow day! Yay! Could it have been my chocolate chip banana bread prep yesterday that finally caused the flakes to fall? Probably not, but regardless, we awoke to a blanket of pure white covering the ground this morning and it has been awesome!

As soon as the alarm clock went off, I picked up my phone to see a message from our girl's school officially declaring a snow day. "YES!" my still sleepy mind shouted and I climbed out of bed to see just how much had fallen in our little town. Perfection. Pure, white perfection.

I asked my husband to be spy like quiet as he got ready for work as not to wake the natives. Unfortunately, I think their sixth snow sense awoke because minutes later, both were in our room excited about the new landscape outside the window. We encouraged them to settle back in for a little more sleep before going outside. It worked for the older one, but the younger, eh, not so much. She quickly got dressed and watched cartoons until she couldn't stand it any longer. At 9, I gave up and told her she could go outside.

Before                                                      After

I don't know what it is about days like today, but I've decided they're much like being ground...except you don't mind so much. The itinerary I had for today was quickly swept away to be replaced with frozen noses, Disney movies, grilled cheese and tomato soup. I find my heart and mind relaxed and the day holds no schedule. No school. No ball games. No errands. Nothing.

 Days like this aren't often. When the weather is good, there is always something that has to be done or could be done. However, when it's 17 degrees, the girls are home and the roads are slick, life comes to a beautiful halt. It's a slowing down that is very hard to replicate. 

After the girls played outside a bit, they came in, teeth chattering, ready for lunch. As is our tradition, grilled cheese and tomato soup was on the menu. I think the girls would have almost been offended if I'd tried to serve them anything else. It's not only perfect for warming their tummies, but also the core of a favorite food memory. Grilled cheese and tomato soup lunches on snow days with their favorite German exchange student, Maja, a little over 3 years ago. We don't eat it at any other time. Only on snow days. (I'm having mine as I type...)

So while we only saw a little over 2" of snow last night, a light flurry for most of the country, to us it's a pretty big deal. It means another opportunity for winter memories. Another opportunity for frozen boogers and piled up, snow soaked clothes by the door. Another opportunity for grilled cheese and tomato soup.