Snow days may cause some singin' and dancin'!

Today was a snow day for all the schools in the area. Oh how different it is being retired vs actively teaching wishing for a snow day in the worst way! There were degrees of excitement dependant upon who it was doing the snow dance to win the favor of the snow gods who would then bestow upon us that unplanned , special gift of spontaneous freedom. A phone call that said, "You must stay home. The weather is too precarious to venture outdoors."

And my response would be..."Well, if I must...I must." Click.[the sound of the phone hanging up]. And then.... Wahoo! WAHOO! WA-HOO! Which reminds me of 'the wahoo heard around the county' many years ago. It really was an innocent proclamation of jubilance!! It was a Friday. It was a Friday before a week long vacation. It was a Friday where both kids and staff were looking forward to kicking back for a little 'R &R. ' There was light at the end of the tunnel. The announcement came over the PA system, "The buses are here and ready for boarding." Be still my heart.

"Okay girls and boys...line up, and remember we are going to WALK all the way to the buses." After I accompanied 'the little cherubs' to the front door, I poked my head into the office and let out quite the spirited and loud,"WA-A-A-H-O-O-O! The Principal's door opened very slowly, and I got the nonverbal ' evil eye with one eyebrow raised '. I was surprised...I hadn't launched into my vocal rendition of "O Happy Day!" It was the official beginning of a much anticipated vacation. Well...two sides to every story. It just so happened that there was a meeting of every principal in the county in Dr. B's office and I guess my 'wahoo' was a wee bit distracting. Oh well, what could I say? I'd be more careful the next time!!!
My next act of public jubilance was done when the principal's door was wide open and the lights were out. I had exerted much planning and energy getting my 3 Math classes ready for the 6th Grade State Math test, and the kids and I had received great results. I hopped up on the counter and did a little dance singing, "Da da da da...da da da" with my hands in sync with my feet...and out of that dark, empty- looking office walked the Business Director of the district!!! I couldn't believe it!! He lived at the high school building...what was he doing here?? Not a problem, though. I didn't bother anyone, and he had a great sense of humor. He said, "Celebrating something pretty good?" and then spontaneous laughter was heard as I jumped down from the counter.

And lastly, the day after the next principal made'''good on his word' to the kids... that he would have his head shaved in an assembly when the kids read the targeted number of books as a part of a 'reading incentive'...someone played the song "Hair" from the musical over the PA system[before the kids arrived]...but we never found out who did that one. Much better planning!!!