This past year has been anything but normal because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so Wednesday’s nor’easter and following snow day was a welcome sight for many.

This was the first major snowstorm that New Jersey has seen in nearly three years. News 12’s Brian Donohue visited Goffle Brook Park in Hawthorne where many children and adults alike were out sledding and playing in the snow.

But even amid the seemingly timeless scene of snow-sledding, there was still some 2020 strangeness happening. The Schick kids were in Hawthorne visiting their grandparents. The sledding trip counted as their virtual learning gym class at Washington Street Elementary School in Toms River. Their mother Courtney was streaming Mr. Yaeger’s class on Google Classroom. The kids will get full credit for their snow adventure.

“These kids need to get out and get off the computer and actually live and play like we used to,” says Courtney Schick. “It’s nice to see them playing and not stuck in front of the computer.”

It is a reminder that things are still a little strange in 2020, making it even more clear that one of the biggest lessons of the year is to be prepared and be ready to seize whatever moment one can to get some joy.