Journal: 12/09/05

This week has been one of on again - off again snowstorms. There have been several warnings of imminent storms, and my students and I have waited impatiently for the snow to start (and for school to be canceled). I’m certain we’ve glanced outside more often during class, looking aside from our Tale of Two Cities or Macbeth to see how gray the sky was and whether the first flakes were starting to flutter down. I think we all felt that a sizeable, school-canceling storm was preparing itself just beyond the horizon, and that soon we would all be lounging at home as the snow descended in blankets. However, it really never happened. On Tuesday morning, we had an inch or two, but nothing was canceled, and we all slouched into school for a full day of classes. I brought some extra treats to cheer up my students, and I’m sure the hot chocolate I regularly serve helped to soothe the disappointed kids, but the day was a fairly somber one. That’s what sometimes happens when expectations are raised. We thought sure we would be capering in the snow all day, and instead our heads were poised over books for hour after hour. Now this morning, it’s happening again. A storm has been forecast, and I awoke this morning expecting to see a sheet of snow in the parking lot outside. Instead, I saw pavement, cars with bare tops, and a sky that obviously had no snow in it. Another disappointment. What extra treats can I bring today? How delicious and consoling can I make the hot chocolate?