Up Hill Both Ways

We live within a half mile of our elementary school so we are considered "walkers".  We really are very close.  I can watch my babes cut across a field all the way to school from my bedroom window, and in the fall and summer it's no big deal to walk to school.  But my kids will have a tale to tell when it comes to winter and spring walking to school, and no it's not "up hill both ways".  In the winter our field turns into a frozen tundra- sometimes it's the snow they deal with, sometimes it's the bitter arctic air. In the spring it melts into a mushy mess of snow run off, or in the case of a quick melt a small lake is formed causing them to walk around it's edges into the shallow areas.  Occasionally, if it's really bad I'll drive them.  But I figure it builds character and we are really close.

I learned years ago that while living in a cold climate it is essential to invest in high quality winter gear and it's a good thing because here is our school district's policy for cold weather cancellation:

*** Schools will conduct school in the normal manner if there is a reasonable expectation that 85% or more of the children will be in attendance. If the wind chill, according to the National Weather Service, is 35° below zero (minus 35°) or colder at 5:30 a.m. and predicted to remain that low or become worse, school may be cancelled. In most cases, however, the combined effects of snow, ice and wind are considered in decisions that would involve disrupting the school day...Most heavy snows or cold weather will not result in school closure.

And this my friends is how we look walking to and from school on a day that is -11 degrees plus a windchill.   Yes, we will have a tale to tell.