It's snowing!

It is snowing in Austin, big fluffy snowflakes!

I had been hoping for a snow day, but it didn't happen in time.

Instead, we got an EARLY RELEASE day. This is the redheaded stepchild of snow days. It's much worse than staying all day. This is how it goes:

• Principal announces that school will be dismissed early.
• Students go NUTS. The announcement has the same effect on a 7 year old as a dozen cupcakes and a can of Red Bull would.
• Teacher has to make twenty phone calls to make sure kids have a ride home.
• Phone calls are interrupted by students who've lost their minds.
• Teacher starts shouting vain threats. (Eg: If you don't sit down and work on your math, you'll never have recess again...)
• Teacher returns to phone calls.
• Teacher goes into Jekyll/ Hyde mode juggling yelling at students/ politely talking to parents on the phone.
• School secretary begins calling on the intercom for students whose parents have already arrived.
• Parents who didn't answer phone because they thought their kid was in trouble have now had time to listen to message and begin calling back.
• Secretary calls on intercom for 'Eric'. All three Erics start doing cartwheels and 9 kids run to tell teacher about the multiple Eric situation.
• Buses arrive, but not all of them.
• Teacher waits with remaining students.
• Vain threats get even more ridiculous. (Eg: If you don't read your library book quietly, I'm going to melt all the snow...)
• Remainder of buses arrive.
• Teacher gets to leave, arrives home 11 minutes earlier than usual.