OPINION: Snowcalypse 2026 and the excitement that wore off

Everyone said it was coming. Some said a whole lot was coming.  Others simply said a lot was coming.  Everyone said something was coming.  For about a week, weather forecasters were showing their models and making their predictions.  Joel Barnes and I have never met, but he sure spent a lot of time last week in my living room talking to my family about the weather.

We made ourselves ready, making sure all the outside spouts were covered and the vents were closed.  Of course, we got plenty of bread and milk.  Amy made sure we each had our favorite snacks.  We gathered our blankets, flashlights, lanterns and candles, and we made sure our battery packs and phones were charged to 100%.  In addition to all the emergency items, we loaded up the cue on Netflix and Amazon Prime.  We got those books we were wanting to read.  

The feeling one has the night before a snowstorm comes is similar to that which one has on Christmas Eve.  It’s like the night before you leave for vacation.  There is an excitement, anticipating the benefits of being holed up in the house for several days.  

Saturday, I alternated between watching movies and reading a good novel.  I would take a break from those by catching a nap in the recliner.  Of course, a morning nap needed to be balanced out by an afternoon nap.  We enjoyed dinner together and then, you guessed it—watched another movie.  

Sunday was rinse and repeat, while also checking in on grandparents in Nashville.  The Snowcalypse there was much more serious.  Limbs down everywhere and no power.  Thinking about what they were going through made my cabin fever and lagging internet seem like nothing to complain about.

Monday was more of the same.

Tuesday was more of the same.

When they make the announcement on Saturday that school for Monday and Tuesday of next week is already cancelled, there’s excitement at first.  That excitement is then followed by the sobering thought, “Oh, we’re going to be stuck in this house at least until then.”

I felt like I was living in the movie Groundhog Day.

The thought of a Snow Day is exciting in the beginning.   The prospect of a day with nothing to do is pure joy.  After it comes and you’ve taken hold of it, it’s followed by another day, and yet another, and then you realize it has actually taken hold of you.  What seemed so appealing at the outset ends up being quite depressing.  Snow Days are proof that what initially causes us to feel wonderful can end up causing us to feel terrible.

There is a point, and I don’t know exactly when it is, that the enthusiasm of a Snow Day turns into a monotonously dreaded drudgery.  Maybe it’s the realization that we literally are stuck.  We come face to face with our humanness—our finiteness—our powerlessness.  We are reminded that we are not masters of our own fate.

During Snowcalypse 2026, not only was I mindful of my humanity.  I was also reminded of the good gift of work—something I was unable to do for several days.  

Work is not a curse of the Fall.  Rather, work was given by God before the Fall.  Work is good. Work is another way for us to bring glory to our Creator.  It’s the way life is supposed to be.  Let the snow and ice melt.  I want to get out of the driveway.  

There is a reason we have the desire to go back to work.  Life was never meant to be a long series of Snow Days.

Todd E. Brady serves as Staff Chaplain and Advanced Funeral Planner at Arrington Funeral Directors.  He and his wife, Amy have five sons.  You may write to him at tbrady@afgemail.net.