Thank God for snow days.

Even in our virtual world, praise be to God that one longtime tradition remains mostly sacrosanct: snow days. As winter weather swept across the Great Plains Feb. 2, children of all ages jumped and cheered for joy as school officials sent out notifications that school was closed because of inclement weather.

Closing school for snow is not only a valuable and enjoyable tradition, but a testament to some important human lessons: that we should appreciate the little things in life, that some things are beyond our control and that we can’t work our lives away. I think we can’t highlight those lessons enough.

My friends and I, even though we’re in college, still find a lot of fun in the snow. On Thursday, we went sledding in a friend’s cow pasture near Alva. Using plastic feed troughs, we rolled down steep slopes and across the rugged prairie. Some curious cattle wandered our direction, perplexed as to what we were doing – and probably wondering why we were playing with their dinnerware.

We also took part in a true Oklahoma snow-day ritual: hooking a feed trough behind a pickup and being pulled across the pasture. Junk car hoods are a popular substitute. The feeling of rip-roaring travel through a pasture, with brush and snow and some occasional recycled grass being kicked up in one’s face, is incomparable and irreplaceable. Of course, we take our sledding and snow-time celebrations to the extreme.

City folks have the right to have fun, too, though they don’t have nearly the creative license we country folks do. Bless their hearts. But they can still make snow-angels, coast down hills at public parks and have snowball fights in the street.

Many students across the state partook of this same fun in one way or another, and the memories they made will not soon be forgotten. We all love bundling up to run outside with our pals to play during one of nature’s most marvelous weather events. Sadly, some students were denied this opportunity.

Some school districts opted to switch to virtual instruction rather than letting students and teachers have the freedom of snow days. This is just another outgrowth of the pandemic, which – to some degree – did necessitate the use of computer communication to keep learning alive.

But virtual learning’s public health purposes should not be confused with the importance of giving children permission to skip school to enjoy a truly remarkable wonder of nature.

Snow days are beautiful, in part, because they’re serendipitous. They come as a welcome surprise, an unexpected relief, and they remind us that good things can – and still do – happen at any moment. In a world that seems so low on hope, we’d do well to remember that.

Snow days also remind us that we can’t control the weather, and as much as we can try to adapt to it or change it, some things are better left alone. I’ll be the first to admit that I have, in the past, gotten too worked up over situations I can’t control.

None of us can control the weather. When we begin to accept that we can’t change everything, we learn to be positive, no matter the situation. Inclement weather is a great teacher of this lesson. Above all, snow days remind us to slow down and take a break.

Having a strong work ethic is a meaningful trait, and we need more people in the world who are zealous to do good works.

But even God tells us to take a sabbath, and it doesn’t always have to be on a Sunday. I know I’ve certainly caught up on rest and relaxation during these snowy days, and I’ve used the time to reflect on my blessings. Some of my friends say snow days usually come at just the right time for them – right when they need some down time. If you start to think of your snow days this way, you’ll have a better life outlook all the way around.

Snow days are fun, and when safely enjoyed, they are incredibly rewarding. Whether we’re spending time with friends and loved ones or basking in the glory of nature, let’s remember this: The lessons we learn on snow days are just as important as the ones we learn in class. Let’s keep snow days around.