Making Art From Mother Nature - A Snow Day Turned Into Productivity (and My Grad Students Are Glad)

The storm came. It brought what they said it would and the State shut down. I didn't, however, and began my morning with two hours of plowing, including helping new neighbors get out and assisting the elderly couple next door knowing that I'll likely be paid back in pierogies. Then, I proceeded to grade and prepare for night classes if and when the University decided they would reopen.

All classes up to 4:30 were cancelled.

I knew, however, that I have in-practice teachers in my courses, and a snow day for them deserves to be a snow day. I made the executive decision to host class via ZOOM, online, if the University reopened.

They reopened.

Had we met face-to-face we could have delved a lot deeper, but I have respect for teachers, so made a compromise - give me a bit of the course online, and then you can go back to your day off. I received several emails thanking me for this decision. It's the little things, and we were still able to cover territory: data, assessment data, layouts for presenting educational research and our personal pursuits for the semester.

In the meanwhile, I'm giving myself the middle finger. It's my right hand. I am thankful, so I keep flipping myself off.

Today's snow was a wet, fluffy snow that already began melting my 8 a.m. - by 9:30 a.m. it was clumping up in the snowblower and lodging within the blower. I had to grab chunks of ice from the shoot and I'm typically cautious about doing this, as I know the motor is strong. Well, I mistimed the space and when I pulled out a chunk of ice, I felt WHOOMPH. I thought I lost a finger.

Actually, I thought, "Hey, one of my hands will look like Grandpa Spences's".

I didn't want to look so continued to plow and go on with my business. When I finally go inside, cold and pretending all would be well, I pulled off my glove thinking a glob of my phalange would fall out. It didn't. It is cut, bruised and swollen, but I can still flip myself off.

I am lucky and I have learned my lesson of being aggressive when plowing. I just wanted to be done already so I could go back to my 12 hour grading-frenzy.

I should shout, too: I finished the grading. I am shocked but I got all graduate and undergraduate work assessed and caught up to to this week's goals. This, of course occurred at 11 p.m. last night, but I met my goal!

Backyard plans require compromise. It was a beautiful snowfall and I know kids around CT enjoyed building snowmen, sledding and throwing snow-balls at their friends. I, on the other hand, sort of caught up and for that I am thankful.