I think there is a lot of that type of nostalgia for that. For me, it was getting a day off of school. Still today, that liberating and spirited feeling comes rushing back with an impending storm, even though I am beholden today to no one, and certainly not a boring public institution. As for "snow on the ground," I couldn't really care less. It's more annoying to me. But...give me an event to track 5 days out, dump it on me, & cause a huge distraction to the normal flow of prosaic life. Then get the snow the hell outta here a day later, and rinse and repeat.