It was a brief school week, indeed! Two snow days and a delayed start on a third, following an eventful holiday weekend. Monday marked a great 'Day-On' for many of our Middle School families, who participated in our Martin Luther King Day of Service. I was fortunate enough to catch up with each group of volunteers, however briefly, Monday morning, and whether our students were packing up donated bicycles to send to Third World countries or designing a new playground for a local housing community serving the transitioning homeless or transporting and stacking food for the local hungry, they were focused on the task at hand and happy to be helping!

On Saturday, nearly 200 people, including six former Board presidents and many teachers and parents from more than five decades of Burgundy's history, came to campus to honor the memory of former teacher Anna McKenna. The memorial began at 3:00 p.m. and many stayed until 6:00 p.m. It was a great celebration of Anna's life, Burgundy's community, and the ways our teachers (now and always) connect with students and inspire them for a lifetime.

Sunday, just to fill the lull, we had a major water main break, and after meeting Jerry Vaughan, Fairfax Water representatives, and our local Franconia plumbers on campus to address the situation, Tatum and I, thanks to caretaker Molly Buck, were able to visit with the animals at the barn, feed the chickens, and enjoy some bonding time (little did I know how much additional bonding time we were soon to have...).

Thus, the snow days, while filled with regular work, were a departure from normal routines and were fun!

I hope that many of you found a beneficial and unanticipated something special in our two extra days, even in addition to memorable time with family. Not being on the regular schedule sometimes allows us to catch up with ourselves, whether by drifting back to sleep for an hour, braving the weather for a brisk walk, sitting up late reading or journaling, or just working at a more leisurely pace from home, watching the snow falling and keeping an eye or an ear on our kids.

Three years ago, after the blizzard hit, I cross-country skied each day for 3 or 4 days straight, the first two days right out of my garage and into the white. I've hankered for that experience each year since. This Wednesday morning, I found myself on cross-country skis and facing into a frigid breeze. I was instantly second-guessing my decision, but I was awake as I'd been in at least a couple of years. A few minutes later, my native Minnesotan neighbor Steve and I were into the woods on the crispest of early mornings, watching the white caps roll across Burke Lake and feeling the sun peeking through the trees as we averted the occasional bare spot or branch. For two hours or so, as we navigated each curve of the lake's shores, sometimes finding our way back onto a path or making a calculated decision to explore a route through the woods, we saw only two persons and a loud blue heron, and said few words. Though we each realized we were late getting back to work, we were relaxed and happy, having reconnected with each other and something we needed.

Snow days can be Nature's way of reminding us to slow down and appreciate things -- family, most important, and perhaps our warm homes and fireplaces, but also Nature itself, seemingly disrupting everything but often reminding us of what's important and necessary. I hope you each found such a moment over these past few days.