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Experience vs. Live

We had a snow day today.

Last year we had over two feet of snow AT ONCE and were snowed in for two weeks. We. loved. it. This year, nary a flake. (Okay, a few flakes one day, but it was melted by mid-morning).

Snow boots and gloves were on clearance last week, so I stocked up on some for both the little kids for the future. But with this mild winter, the chances of us using them were slim.

Until yesterday. There was a possibility of some snow that was to come in overnight! It looked like Tulsa could get around 5 inches. At 5 a.m. this morning, there was snow on the ground, but not near what was predicted. I checked the school closings (because Eli still goes to public school) and EVERY SCHOOL IN OUR AREA WAS CLOSED ..... except for ours.

So I laid in bed and tossed and turned and remembered how excited he was before he went to bed because there might be snow to play in, and recalled how the extended forecast showed that the mild temps would be back by tomorrow afternoon so the snow would likely be melted before he got home from school.

And that's when I made the decision to declare it a snow day, even if the schools weren't. Why? Because I want us to experience life, not just live it.

The Merriam-Webster's Dictionary gives these two definitions:

Experience ~ direct observation of or participation in events as a basis of knowledge 

Live ~ to conduct or pass one's life

Do you want to just conduct your life or just pass through it? Isn't there a little too much of that going on around you, around me? I want us to have a direct observation of events, and participate in events, as a basis of knowledge (and, dare I say it, a little fun)!


Eli and Brynne will only be 8 and 6 years old once. This might be the only day, at these ages, that they will get to experience the feel of snow down their boots, in their gloves, and on their lips as they participate in the age-old ritual of eating it! (And, yes, I have warned against eating "yellow snow". We have four dogs.) I want them to experience the thrill of flying down the hill on their sleds, of trudging through the snow in their too-big-boots, of coming inside for some hot chocolate to warm up.


I want us to experience this life we have been given. And, if that means putting the books away for a day, then so be it. The books will be there tomorrow. But, today, they enjoyed the knowledge of directly participating in the important event of a snow day in Oklahoma.

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