Snow (or, Mr. Sherman Announces his Retirement)

Snow.

Some love it.

Some hate it.

As for me?

Well, I, Lena Levy, love AND hate snow.

That means that my opinion on snow depends on when it falls.

For example, since I am an interfaith Jew, it angers me to see snow fall before the fall Jewish holidays conclude.

Thankfully, that type of snowfall has never happened in my lifetime.

Also, I hate snow days that fall on what were originally going to be test days for me.

Why?

They result in more studying for me.

GRR!

This has happened a few times.

Oh, and, in my honest opinion, snow should NOT fall before Veterans Day (11/11).

Pre-Veterans Day snow just doesn't feel right.

However, if it snows on Hanukkah or over December Break, I will feel quite happy.

Same goes for February Break.

Anyways - wow, it's snowing.

It's 11/11, so it's not that bad.

How much snowfall?

Around 2-3 inches, give or take, which means either a delayed opening (boo!) or, hopefully, a remote learning day at home.

Ideally, I'd rather have no school, but, sadly, c'est la vie.

That's life.

"Hey, Lena, come on, look at this snow! It's just so beautiful. I adore how it's pretty much only made of frozen water droplets. Please meet me by the front door windows."

"In a minute, Leslie, I still need to bask in the glory of this snowfall."

Yet, this first frost saddens me.

Why?

It's because with the snowfall comes colder temperatures, shorter days, longer nights, gloomier atmospheres, among other heartbreakers.

The biggest downfall, however, is that it reminds me of the anniversary of Heartbreak Day.

What's Heartbreak Day?

Good question!

It's the anniversary of when Mr Sherman, my favorite art teacher, retired.

(BTW, the exact date he retired is 12/1/2017.)

To me, he felt like a warm summer's day - bright, cheerful, energetic, and caring.

However, on November 13th, 2017, he sighed as he explained to my 4th grade class that, as of 12/1/17, after 45 total years of teaching (WOW!), he would retire.

I was stunned.

So were Chloe, Max, Kaitlyn, Aria, Brayden, Lauren, Brianna, Jakey, and Marco, among the others in my 4th grade class.

The news of his sudden retirement (despite him being very old) hit us all like a sudden and heavy snowstorm.

We all tearfully pleaded for him to stay.

"We'll miss you!" Chloe whined.

"NOOO!!!" shrieked Jakey.

"Without you, art class will be zero fun!" I cried.

"AT LEAST STAY UNTIL WINTER BREAK STARTS!" Aria hissed.

"BECAUSE OF YOUR SILLY RETIREMENT, I'M GONNA HATE SCHOOL FOREVER!" Brayden pouted.

My art class suddenly turned into a tornado of crying kids, a panicked Baby Boomer (Mr. Sherman) unsure of what to do, flying art materials, and, for some odd reason, the music video for "I Will Always Love You" by Whitney Houston being showcased on the SmartBoard, thanks to the help of Kennedy.

"EVERYONE, QUIET DOWN PLEASE!" Mr. Sherman suddenly and seriously snapped at us.

We all were stunned by his reaction.

He had never snapped at us before.

Like, ever.

That moment was like seeing a unicorn in the flesh.

Except that unicorns aren't real.

Oh dear.

Suddenly, Mr. Sherman excused himself from the Art Room to have a cry in the bathroom.

We all were fine with that.

While he was gone, we all cleaned up our mess and turned off the SmartBoard.

Y'know, so he wouldn't murder us.

Or, more likely, yell at us/reprimand us.

After about several awkward minutes of waiting, Mr. Sherman finally returned.

On his face was a look of remorse, exhaustion, and regret.

He explained that he couldn't stand our disrespectful actions.

"Well, if that was the case, then why'd ya all of a sudden storm out of the Art Room?" Brianna asked.

For a moment, awkward silence filled the Art Room as we all awkwardly giggled and fidgeted, waiting for someone to shatter the silence.

Finally, Mr. Sherman spoke, albeit with tear-filled eyes and a raspy voice.

"Oh, oh, oh, I don't, I don't know, what, what, what, to, to, to, argh, uh, say, s-s-say, t-t-to, y-y-y'all," he stammered.

Eventually, he stopped stammering.

"To make a long story somewhat short, I needed to calm down because even though Ms. Chang (the incoming art teacher) is a total sweetheart, I'm really gonna miss each and everyone of you. In case you don't know, I'm retiring to spend quality time with my family while I still can. Not everyone is guaranteed tomorrow, y'know. Life is like a snowfall - it can be calm, light, intense, heavy, or something else, but, you don't know how long it'll last. Life could be short, long, or in between, but one thing's for certain - y'all should go out there and enjoy your lives."

We were all stunned and in awe at his speech.

"Wow!"

"Amazing!"

"Stop scaring us, please!"

"That was deep."

Mr. Sherman was in awe.

"Wow, you guys are amazing people. You all are. I typically don't play favorites, however, this entire 4th grade class, Mr. Leibowitz's 4th Grade class of the 2017-2018 school year, is one of my most favorite classes I've EVER taught. Please don't tell ANYONE ELSE that I said that. Anyways, to wrap this statement up, I'll miss you all so so so SO MUCH!! Keep on being creative because if you don't, the world will become duller! Creativity brightens up the world and makes it joyful!"

*the end-of-the-day bell rings*

"Whoopsies! Went a little bit over-the-top there! Anyways, class dismissed. Have a great weekend everyone! I'll hopefully see some of y'all at the Veterans Day parade tomorrow afternoon!" he exclaimed as we all grabbed bags and headed to Dismissal.

"Love y'all!"

Anyways, that's the main reason why now, at age 15, six years after Mr. Sherman retired, that I hate the first snowfall of the year, ESPECIALLY when it happens in November before Thanksgiving.

Anyways, I need to go watch the snowfall with Leslie. Remember everyone, life is short - enjoy the moments!