Snow Day times 5!

In this part of the country, a winter storm struck last Sunday night. It was followed not by the usual warm weather that melts our snow quickly, but by days of FREEZING weather. Local authorities did not prepare adequately for these conditions, despite a week of warnings(?!), so roads have been a mess all week. No safe roads, no buses. No buses, no school. So I've been blessedly able to catch up on laundry, and even get a head start on readings and assignments for my online course. To the point where the articles are read and I have actual NOTES, instead of reading on the fly to respond to the questions for the week. It's kind of cool.
At least school officials had some sense and started announcing closings. On Sunday afternoon. When I got my first call, it hadn't even started snowing in my area- I was out shopping. The next day, the call came even earlier. For 5 days in a row, school was closed. That's pretty remarkable around here, barring a Category 5 hurricane (over 100 miles inland). What impressed me, however, was being notified THE DAY BEFORE.
Let me put this in perspective. Perhaps, in other parts of the country, it's not like this. Around here, when school is cancelled, the decision is typically made in the early hours of the morning. So, if the calling-tree doesn't work right (very common for people to 'forget' to call the next guy), you have no choice but to get up at the normal time and stare at the morning news, waiting for your district to be listed as 'closed' for that day. Then, you can go back to bed. If you can sleep. If you don't have school-age kids who are also up and hoping for an announcement. Some time back, there was even a district that made the decision AFTER buses started rolling. That means the elementary school kids had to be brought back home, since they are picked up earlier. It suggests a lack of consideration for the reality that the people affected by the decision may need some warning in order to re-organize their day.
Which is way I was impressed to get a call on Sunday afternoon. Even though I was thinking this would fizzle out, it was nice to be considered and notified in advance.