Inside Out.

If you ever find yourself sitting around and suddenly thinking, "gee, I'd surely like to know what's going on with the weather," you have a few options.  You could consult a meteorologist if you happen to know one personally.  If not, you could just turn to any readily available media and get what you need.  Newspapers, television, Internet...any will do.

Or, you could just ask a teacher.

Most of us aren't "weather experts" or anything.  At least not in a way that would allow us to put it on a resume.  But we are pretty darned invested in the whole phenomenon.  Obsessively so, some might say.  Depending upon the geographical location, the time of year we start really becoming Weather Watchers may vary.  In my neck of the woods, that time has come.  My colleagues and I have begun the scanning of the skies and the contemplating of the clouds.  We are waiting for that special event that comes rarely, but is welcomed with arms so open that shoulders get dislocated.

Snow Day!!!

Think back on your school days and imagine the face of your crustiest, grumpiest, least-cool teacher.  I'm talking about the one that only smiled after extensive dental work and the resulting pain-killers kicking in.  The one who called your mom when you didn't finish your lunch or who wouldn't let you use the "good" ball at recess.  That miserable example of humanity could be found pressed up against the window on a snowy morning, cheering the advancing flakes and letting out a big, ol' whoop of joy when the television or radio announced that the day was a freebie.

You don't have to believe me.  I'll understand if you think it unlikely.  But, I speak true.

Last Friday, we slipped seamlessly back into Snow Mode like clockwork.  There was a rumor in the wind that there was a storm a-comin' Sunday night and it was all we could do to contain ourselves or show a modicum of professionalism in front of the children.  We don't want them to think that we like Snow Days or anything.  We need them to believe that we are so committed to our work that we come in even when school is cancelled and spend the day wistfully tidying up our desks or teaching each other until the nightmare is over.  This is a better image, really.

But it's a completely false image and I could be drummed out of the Teacher's Association for sharing this.  Keep it under your hat 'kay?  Thanks...

In fact, we are so invested in the idea of a Snow Day, that we have many insane little rituals and superstitions around the whole thing.  They vary from school to school and you won't always see the same things, but there is a little consistency.  For example, in most teaching communities it is perfectly all right to discuss what you think might happen regarding the weather and the superintendent's decision making process, but it is never OK to say that you definitely plan on staying home.  That is "jinxing" the whole thing and everyone will blame you the next day should you have to be in your classrooms.  Some schools I've worked in have a certain item for lunch on the day before a potential storm.  Others have special greetings or incantations that the teachers like to say to one another to help bring the precipitation.

I've worked in a number of Maine schools.  I jump around a lot...I get bored easily, I suppose.  And in that time, I have found a ritual that, unlike some of the others, is consistent.  I can't tell you if this is a nationwide sort of thing or if it is just a state tradition.  But, everyone does it.  And if they don't do it, then they will lie and say they did.  It's that important.  If you don't want to think about your child's teachers doing something so ridiculous that you will never be able to look them in the eye again during parent/teacher conferences, then surf away now.  'Cuz I'm gonna tell you what I'm wearing to bed tonight:

Inside-out pajamas.

Yup.  If you live in Maine, chances are that your child's teacher, the one in whose care you place your most precious little bundle of joy five days per week, will be wearing his or her jammies inside out tonight.  I don't know when this little ritual started.  I don't know how it spread.  I can't even comment on it's reliability as a tool for getting a three day weekend.  I just know that it is tradition.  

It may be a little bit of over-kill, though.  This is our weather forecast for tonight into tomorrow.  At the risk of taunting the Snow Day gods, I think it is safe to say that there may be some down time tomorrow.  I'm not predicting that there will be...that would break the rules, after all.  But, c'mon!  I'm not made of stone, here!  It is hard not to get excited.  The idea of staying home, doing a little holiday prep, maybe breaking out the spinning wheel like I meant to do today but didn't sounds awfully appealing.  I'll still pack a lunch, iron my clothes and set the alarm.  That's the responsible thing to do, after all.  

But, when I'm done with all that I'll be sitting around in my inside-out PJ's and dreaming of a Snow Day.  You can count on it!

SA