The Town-wide Joy Among The Youth On Our Snow Day Was A Sight To Behold
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HILL COUNTRY LIVING
By Coulter Fussell
I don’t think a group of kids in the whole world was more appreciative of a Snow Day last week than our town’s crew of Mississippi young ones. Boy, did they play! They pulled two pairs of socks over their hands, borrowed garden gloves from Momma, put on two Ole Miss hoodies instead of just one, and froze snowballs in the freezer for posterity’s sake. The town-wide joy among the youth was a sight to behold.
I think sometimes we adults get so stressed out and caught up in the tide of decision-making and political discourse that we forget the kids are dealing with it all, too. Especially this past year where the big debate was centered around where to physically put the children during the day.
Kids, as a group, were more at the center of the debate surrounding the virus than the virus itself. And the kids were hearing it all, each and every day, knowing everyone was completely freaking out because we had to put them somewhere but couldn’t figure out where. That had to be pretty weird.
But, as kids will do, they handled weird like champs. They did what they were told, they washed their hands and wore their masks for seven hours a day and sat at their computers at home or walked into school under uncertain terms. And lots of kids out there did all this with much bigger problems and more direct threats in their lives than a sneaky virus to which they were seemingly “immune.”
All this to say, I was overjoyed to see a whole town of unprofessional, falling-in snowmen with carrot arms. Our kids may be terrible at making snowmen but they are terrific as getting through a worldwide pandemic in a state that doesn’t have the advantages of most all the others. What a sweet snowy respite for all of them.
Also, a relief is the vaccine. The roll out has begun and it’s wild to watch. Seeing it all go down looks like something from the History Channel, except it’s in color. My parents got their first doses last week and the relief I felt was more than I had expected. I was mainly immensely proud of them for being diligent and taking it all seriously. It was no small effort on their part and was more than I feel I could have done. I get emotional every time a friend posts a picture of their mother or father getting vaccinated.
For people in my age group, this past year has been hyper focused on Kids-And-Parents. If I wasn’t worrying about my kids, I was worrying about my parents. Honestly, there wasn’t a time when I wasn’t simultaneously worried about both. And often the best solution for one was at odds with the best solution for the other.
So, what I’m saying is Kids-And-Parents Year was a lot and I’m ready for a ME year! Just kidding, I imagine in 2054 when my sub-group is finally eligible for the Covid vaccine the thrill will be gone. And hopefully the virus. But there’s a snowball waiting in the freezer to throw when that day comes!
