I was trying desperately to catch up on all of my overdue blog RSS reading today, but of course reading only sparks my muse’s fire.

The blog responsible for this post is The Random Mind of Miss Julie. Specifically it was her Biking in the Snow and White Out posts that got me thinking.

In those posts she included pics of snow-covered areas, such as DC, that had gotten whomped harder than usual this winter to show just what a weird winter it’s been. Even Arizona had gotten snow. (Well, it’s not uncommon for higher elevations to get snow during winter, but it is unusual for snow to fall in other parts of the state.)

Here is Nashville we’ve been cold, cold, cold, and had more snow than normal. Yet, I was talking to my friend Jade Walker who’s up in New Hampshire and they’ve gotten ripped off on the white stuff this winter. So, yes, the official consensus is it’s a weird winter!

But I’ve also heard people joke about global warming being a farce. How this winter is proof of that.

Yet I’ve seen others like my friends James share news story links on Facebook about how a harsher winter only proves global warming is getting worse.

I don’t know about global warming. I’m no scientist. Although, I don’t really buy it. Not in the way it’s currently being sold.

I do believe in the concept of global warming. Only because the Earth once experienced an Ice Age. It’s been heating up ever since that’s ended!

I think what we’re seeing now is natural. Man may have affected it somewhat, but I think the glaciers are destined to melt no matter what. Especially after I watched a NatGeo show about how the Great Lakes all once used to be glaciers themselves –and melted long before man had much influence on the environment!

Personally, I think we humans forget we live on a dynamic, ever-changing, ever-evolving planet. It scares us when we’re reminded of that because we can’t control it. Then we come up with ways to point the blame so we can feel like we have some sort of control…

But I’m digressing. Global warming or not, it’s a weird winter and most can agree on that.

But what if this was the last one? If global warming lives up to its name and the Earth’s temp only continues to rise, eventually there will come a time when snow never falls again. Just like how there’s a last snow every season. You’re not quit sure it will be the last (sometimes you’re hoping it will!), but you know it’ll be back, even if that means next winter.

But eventually, if what “they” say is true, there’ll come a season without snow. Followed by another, then another…

I don’t know about you, but that makes me sad. And more appreciative of whatever weather.

Because it reminds me that global warming aside, there’s going to be a last snow, a last rain, a last sunny day, a last fog in my own lifetime. And I’ll likely never even realize it was the last one. So, better to enjoy whatever the weather on this day because I just don’t know if I’ll be around to enjoy it tomorrow!

Starting as early as late last week they were forecasting measurable snow for us here in Nashville today. Then all this week the chances for that happening were 90%.

What a disappointment to wake up this morning and not find the promised snow. (They were estimating between one to three inches. That’s not a lot, but for somewhere unaccustomed to getting much snow, it’s a big deal.)

However, schools shut down.

Ever since we moved in here 2005, every time there’s snow, even if it’s only a quarter inch, schools close.

The first winter that left us stumped. Both Wayne and I grew up in Denver. Both of us lived there through some pretty significant snow storms, and even a blizzard or three. Like any red-blooded American kid, we relished snow days. But do you think Denver Public Schools (DPS) granted them often? No, they did not. It had to be as near to blizzard conditions as you can get them before they’d even consider shutting things down.

But that’s Colorado where snow’s a part of winter life. Here, even though they have sand trucks and some snow plows, they’re really not equipped for true snowy winter weather.

Also, in 2003 there was a snow storm that set the “Declare a Snow Day at the Drop of a Flake” precedent. The snow didn’t start until kids were in school. It picked up fast and by the time they decided to let school out early, it was too late.

Too much snow had fallen and slicked up the roads. Buses –filled with kids– got stuck. Parents didn’t know where there children were. It took hours before some got home.

In short, I guess it turned into a nightmarish mess. No one wanted to repeat that mistake again. Better to be safe than sorry.

So, that’s why people rushed out in droves to grocery store last night. And that’s why school was canceled today.

Because, even though we woke up to only overcast skies, there was still a chance that, like in 2003, the snows could start later in the morning and become heavier.

It’s been spitting snow off and on most of the morning. For the past hour and a half it’s been picking up somewhat. Some is even now starting to stick to the sidewalks and powder the lawns. They say an inch is still possible.

All I know, snow days are good. But when we got snow days as a kid and actually had snow to go along with them, nothing beat a morning of sledding, snowball fighting, snow fort or snowman making, followed by a good cup of hot cocoa, a little rest, and then an afternoon of resumed outdoor fun.

Nashville kids don’t know what they’re truly missing!