Snow day

Peering through my blinds at 7:30am this morning, the neighborhood was hardly recognizable. Remembering back to my days as a school teacher, I thought it had to be a snow day.  Duke University, however, had a different opinion.  At 5:30am, Duke News posted that the university was open and classes were to be held.  So my roommates and I left the house bound for school.

A tug on the car door was met with resistance.  With some pulling and pushing, and an ice scraper that I didn't think I would ever have to use in North Carolina, we managed to open enough doors and clear enough windows to pile in and drive to campus.  Slipping and sliding down the snow and slush-covered streets, we made it to the Nicholas school in one piece.  

We trekked across a fairly empty campus, shoes squeaking with each step, and snapped some shots of the Duke Chapel and main quad.  On our way back, we stopped at the Refectory to warm up and fill up.  After a warm cup of cider, my body and hands were back to a comfortable temperature. 

Finding the stairs leading down to the LSRC quad a little too slippery for comfort, we proceeded down the hill.  When covered in snow, the grass covered slope that I pass everyday now revealed its true purpose as a sledding playground. Coincidentally, two large pieces of cardboard appeared before our very eyes, the best sleds money can buy.  A few test runs without any injuries and we knew it safe to tell the masses. 

We walked from room to room asking people to come join us. Fellow students, dry, warm and focused, were at first unenthusiastic.  With some persistence and minor guilt trips, slowly the tide turned. Fifteen minutes later, a group of 10 Nich schoolers gathered at the pinnacle of Nicholas Hill to give sledding a go.  

Although I have resisted moving somewhere where snow is a common event, I find that in small doses, its novelty releases the spontaneity and energy in us.  As I turn 28 tomorrow, I thank the weather system for bringing me an early birthday gift.