Dear Cornerstone Family,
Congratulations! You survived the great Middle Tennessee snow dump of 2024. Well, truth be told, I bet you loved it.
I’m a sucker for snow. As a boy growing up in south Mississippi, I only remember one good snow. It was, interestingly, on March 12th—the first day of spring break and my sister’s birthday. We received 6” overnight, which was record-breaking in our neck of the woods.
I remember waking up early and looking out the window at a winter wonderland. I’d never seen anything like it. I quickly bundled up and walked out underneath the pine trees, mesmerized by the holy hush of a gentle falling snow. Was this Narnia? Absolutely magical.
Still today, a good snow pulls out my inner child. As soon as it starts falling, I want to grab the sleds and make snow cream. As soon as the news casters tell me to get off the road and stay home, I want to jump in my car and drive and see the places I know and love—downtown, the church—blanketed in pristine white.
I told several of my friends from the north this week that you need to know three things about Southerners and snow days. First, snow days are southern holidays. Contrary to popular opinion, we do not close things down for safety reasons. I realize that’s our stated reason, but it’s not the real reason. The real reason we close everything down is to celebrate the arrival of snow. Let’s face it—snow is as rare as Christmas and arguably more fun. A business or school in the south that stays open on a snow day is simply out of touch. Don’t they know that snow is a sacred gift from heaven and should be treated with appropriate weather reverence?
Second, as beautiful and as wonderful as snow is, snow is scary to a southerner. When snow is forecasted, we go into apocalypse mode. We worry about freezing to death. We wonder if we’ll be able to leave our house. “Will I be snowed in forever?” This is why we immediately run to the grocery store and purchase all the bread and milk. For all we know, this may be the last bread and milk we ever taste.
This leads to my third and final point. If you’re a true southerner, you’re glad to see the snow go. It’s true. Snow is like out of town guests. It’s good for a day or two; after that, it overstays its welcome. As much as I love the snow, it does my southern heart good to see the drops falling from my roof and the grass reappear. Like closing the attic door after putting the last box of Christmas decorations up, it feels good for things to be back to normal.
On that note, is it spring yet?
Your servant,
