The Arctic blast arrived Tuesday night, as parents murmured to each other at school pick up about the possibility of a snow day. Kids prayed for one. (Some parents didn’t.) Then school buses and carpools of kids slid their way across town to their homes, as snow pummeled the metro area.

Vehicles swerved, brakes malfunctioned, and — with snow likely continuing through the night and into Wednesday — Denver Public School leaders met and made the call: No classes on Wednesday.

The note came to parents just after 7:30 p.m., a merciful hour for Denver Public Schools, which has a habit of making such announcements once everybody’s already asleep.

After three years of the looming threat of pandemic-induced remote learning, snow days have kinda lost their luster for many parents. But for kids who’ve been playing catch up all year long, a good old-fashioned snow day is enough to put smiles on many faces.

So expect some grinning, if you’ve got kids at home, and perhaps a gurgling sense of envy in your innards if you’re trudging into the office or working remotely.

Whatever you do, shovel those sidewalks. They don’t shovel themselves. If you can, stay off the roads. Build a snowman with the children. Even better, make the children do the shoveling!