Me? I don’t like ’em. Not one little bit. Oh, now the kids — the kids love those extra two hours of sleep.
Scenario #1: Their parents wake them and say, “You’ve had a two-hour delay; time to get up now,” and they go, “Wow! I just got two more hours of sleep! Bonus!”
Scenario #2: Their phone buzzes with the notification from the school district that there’s a two-hour delay. They quietly whisper Yes! — then promptly go back to sleep.
As you might guess, neither of those dreams come true in this house. Once I’m up at 4:30, I’m up for the day. None of this going-back-to-bed nonsense. Therefore, two-hour delays need to either 1) not happen, or 2) turn into cancellations so I can stay in my jammies and work from home. (At least I get to have a leisurely breakfast and an extra coffee. I’ll go do that now. BRB.)
I do understand why they always start with delays. Really, I get it. It is easier to see “black ice” in the daylight, and many of the back roads in the rural community where I teach go unsalted and unplowed until the last minute. The school whiners always surface on days like this, too:
“In my day, we went to school no matter how bad the roads were!”
“What’s up with those sissies? It’s just -20 outside. Get to school and go into the building and get warm.”
“Why are they always delaying schools? Don’t those bus drivers know how to drive?”
I’ve heard them all (and more), trust me. It’s not really about any of those issues, in my opinion. It’s more about living in an extremely litigious society, where officials accused of disregarding anybody’s safety — that of students or staff — can face a tremendously difficult legal battle if something unfortunate should happen. That, and hello: just err on the side of caution where kids are concerned. Call us sissies; I care not. Getting to school by 7:20 a.m. is important, I know. Getting there no matter the cost, especially when there are now record numbers of student drivers, is not earth-shatteringly crucial. Thus saith the Fink this day.
But delays? As a former principal of mine used to say: “Not a fan.”
Not a fan.
I totally understand where you are coming from! If something wakes me up after…say three hours of sleep I am done…ain’t no going back to sleep for this guy, simply has never happened.
I have been watching the weather of those East of the Mississippi and all I can say is “Wow, some Winter!” Stay warm, safe and of course your Finkiest!
Much, you know….:)
Somebody posted this link on FB today: How to Fall Asleep When It’s 4 a.m. I liked the one idea (getting out of bed) — made sense to me. Maybe we should try it!
Hugs to you from the frozen East!
I do indeed get up and out of bed, one, I do not want to disturb Liz and secondly I have been this way for more than 40 years so I know my body.
It is amazing all the things one can get done…
Here in NC, ‘wintry weather’ is a huge deal. At the first hint that there may possibly be slightest chance of something that might even remotely resemble a snowflake, they spring into action. Schools are closed immediately. Trucks loaded with a liquid ice-melting solution are deployed to spray the main roads and highways (and cars and grass and anything else they can reach
). Warnings are flashed on radios, television and cellphones. People flood the grocery stores and empty the shelves of milk, bread and eggs. (Making French Toast is apparently part of this whole exercise. Of course, that is an assumption on my part.) I get panicky emails asking if I am still holding lessons. About an hour later I get another panicky email from the same people telling me they are not coming to their lesson.
*sigh*
Those of us from the Frozen Tundra known as NY state (and others) just shake our heads and go about our business. It all is rather amusing, really.
One year I worked as a long-term sub at a school district in NY state called North Rose. It was on the border of Lake Ontario between Oswego and Rochester, so you know this place got slammed with snow every winter. The superintendent was proud of saying they did not have a snow day for 5 years. Bully for him – he didn’t have to brave the elements at 0-dark-thirty trying to get to work. Everyone who worked there took their lives in their hands every day just to get to work (I had a 45-minute drive!). There were days I’d have given just about anything to have some sort of delay or snow day.
Enjoy your delay!
PK
Nanook of the North
HAhaha I laffed at this. I needed that today. I’ve seen Florida drivers do the same thing when I was down there. They need a little dose of upstate NY and north central Ohio!
Ugh. How many days are you going to have to go over at the end of the year? It’s been a brutal winter for youse guys.
Well let’s see…I think we’ve only used 4 of the 5 calamity days, so we’re good for the moment. If we have to go over, they’ll take a day off spring break, and they’ll cancel an inservice day, so hopefully no make-ups after Memorial Day weekend! It’s been crazy here.
Time until Thursday, March 20, 2014 at 12:57:00 PM (Pittsburgh time)
55
DAYS
21
HOURS
55
MINUTES
35
SECONDS
until spring