Baby, It's Cold Outside

This has been an odd week. The kids were off from school on Monday for Martin Luther King Day, had two hour delay on Tuesday and Wednesday and no school today.  Now, I am a very reasonable person, but I have been annoyed this week by the delays and cancellations.  On both Tuesday and Wednesday, they delayed school because the temperature might hit below zero (they delayed the night before, only trusting the weathermen).  On both days the temperature had barely risen above where it was at 8 a.m. by 10 a.m.  Seemingly a useless delay, in my opinion. But that was not the real reason for my annoyance.  The real reason was because being cold in elementary, junior high and high school were great learning opportunities for me, and I want my children to have those same opportunities.  Here are a few things I learned from being cold...

1. If you forget your coat on a cold day, you are going to regret that oversight.   My parents didn't micromanage the getting dressed portion of the day. In fact, I had to wake up by an alarm, and was expected to get myself ready in the morning. There were some very cold mornings on which I ran late, and left my coat at home.  I didn't do this often because it was a educational experience.
2. Gloves are a good idea.  I had to walk a fair distance to my bus stop, about a eight tenths of a mile. Your fingers get cold when you are walking without gloves.  I also know for a fact that your fingers get even colder if you are wearing fingernail polish.  I learned to wear gloves.  
3. Wearing layers is a good way to keep warm.  My parents both used to tell me to dress in layers on cold days.  Because I was young and foolish, I seldom heeded their advice, but I did learn that a t-shirt with a sweatshirt would keep me warmer than just a sweatshirt.  Now that I am older, I wear layers when it's cold.  I found out that my parent's were right.  Layers do keep you warmer.  I'm glad I had the opportunity to prove them right!
4. Being cold won't kill you.  Some mornings I went to school with too little clothes, no coat and no gloves.  Some of these mornings were VERY cold, yes, even below zero. And on those mornings, I was uncomfortable.  My hands hurt from the cold.  I couldn't get warm for most of the day.  It didn't take me long to figure out that the cold probably wouldn't kill me, but it could definitely make me miserable.

Should the school have delayed or canceled school on those mornings?  Nope!  I really do not think they should have.  Those days presented me with valuable life  lessons, including time to reflect on my poor planning and poor time management.  I am thankful that I had to go to school in the cold -- where else could I have learned those specific lessons.  I hope my children get the opportunity to learn these lessons too.

Share your "cold stories" here, and let me know how you feel about delays and cancellations. 

Have a nice evening!

Sarah